Thursday, 12.09.2013

10.30

Welcoming Note
Luisa Damiano (University of Bergamo) and Vincent C. Müller (Anatolia College/ACT & University of Oxford)

Introduction
Gianluca Bocchi (University of Bergamo)

10.50

Keynote Session 1

10.50 Keynote talk
Stuart Kauffman (The Institute for Systems Biology of Seattle, USA)
Answering Descartes: Beyond Turing

11.40 Respondent's Comment - Gianluca Bocchi (University of Bergamo, Italy)

12.00 Discussion

12.20

Lunch

13.20

Welcoming Note
Stefano Paleari (Dean of the University of Bergamo)

Keynote Session 2

13.30 Keynote talk
Ricard Solé (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain)
Synthetic life: cells, machines and the boundaries of evolution

14.20 Respondent's Comment - Alvaro Moreno (University of the Basque Country, Spain)

14.40 Discussion

15.00

Coffee Break

15.20

Open Question session – Question 1
What are the possibilities and the limits of the synthetic study of the origins of life?

15.20 - L. Bich (University of the Basque Country, Spain)
Beyond the principle of continuity at the origins of life: Synthetic Biology and the challenge of prebiotic transitions PDF

15.40 - K. Ruiz-Mirazo (University of the Basque Country, Spain)
On life's nature and the intrinsic limits of Synthetic Biology PDF

16.00 – Discussion

16.20

Open Question session – Questions 3
Does the synthetic modeling of life need teleology?

16.20 – M. Hersch (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
Harnessing teleology for one's own purpose PDF

16.40 – A. Moreno (University of the Basque Country, Spain)
Why Minimal life requires functional constraints PDF

17.00 – Discussion

17.20

Coffee Break

17.30-19.00

Open Question session – Mixed: Questions 13, 4 and 9

Question 13 - Which levels of abstraction are appropriate in the synthetic modeling of life and cognition?
17.30 – G. Dodig Crnkovic (Mälardalen University, Sweden)
Info-computational constructivism in modeling of life PDF

Question 4 - How can we test for artificial life?
17.55 - H. Zenil, G. Ball, J. Tegner (Karolinska Institute, Sweden)
Testing for Non-linear Sensitivity and Programmability PDF

Question 9 - The extended mind thesis: can it be explored synthetically?
18.20 – J. Arranz, J. Noble, M. Brede (University of Southampton, UK)
Selective pressures towards the evolution of extended memory - PDF

18.45 – Discussion

Friday, 13.09.2013

09.00

Keynote Session 3

09.00 Keynote talk
Giulio Sandini (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy)
Brain for robots

09.40 Respondent's Talk
Luciano Fadiga (University of Ferrara & Italian Institute of Technology, Italy)
Robots for brains

10.20 Discussion

10.40

Coffee Break

11.00

Keynote Session 4

11.00 Keynote talk
Giorgio Metta (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy)
Developing Intelligence in Humanoid Robots

11.50 Respondent's Comment – Paul Dumouchel (Ritsumeikan University, Japan)

12.10 Discussion

12.30

Lunch

13.30

Keynote Session 5

13.30 Keynote talk
Minoru Asada (Osaka University, Japan)
Can "Synthetic Methodology" cause a paradigm shift?

14.20 Respondent's Comment – Fabio Bonsignorio (University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain)

14.40 Discussion

15.00

Coffee Break

15.20

Open Question session – Question 6
What is the role of embodiment in the synthetic exploration of cognition?

15.20 – M. Hoffman, A. Roncone, G. Metta (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy)
Modeling the development of human body representations - PDF

15.40 – T. Yamamoto (CiNet, NICT, Japan) and H. Ishiguro (Osaka University, Japan)
Interaction between information representation and physical dynamics as a key to understand cognitive processes - PDF

16.00 – F. Bonsignorio (University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain)
The Role of Embodiment in Life and Cognition PDF

16.20 - Discussion

16.40

Coffee Break

16.50-17.50

Open Question session – Question 7
How can one build an agent aware of its environment?

16.50 – M. Spencer (University of Reading), E. Roesch (University of Reading), J. Bishop (Goldsmiths, University of London), S. Nasuto (University of Reading)
Emergent representations from stochastic diffusion dynamics - PDF

17.10 – D. Mazzei and D. De Rossi (Research Center E. Piaggio, University of Pisa, Italy)
Social Robots' Umwelt - PDF

17.30 - Discussion

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20.30

Workshop Dinner

Saturday, 14.09.2013

09.00

Keynote Session 6

09.00 Keynote talk
Angelo Cangelosi (University of Plymouth, UK)
Embodied Language Learning: From Sensorimotor Intelligence to Symbols

09.50 Respondent's Comment – Vincent C. Müller (Anatolia College/ACT, Greece, & University of Oxford, UK)

10.10 Discussion

10.30

Coffee Break

10.50

Keynote Session 7

10.50 Keynote talk
Pier Luigi Luisi (University of Rome Three, Italy)
Contingency in molecular evolution

11.40 Respondent's Comment – Luisa Damiano (University of Bergamo, Italy)

12.00 Discussion

12.20

Lunch

13.20

Open Question session – Question 5
What can synthetic biology offer to the study of cognition?

13.20 - M. Lucantoni (University of Rome Three, Italy)
Autopoiesis, Metabolism, Cognition - PDF

13.40 – L. Bich and A. Moreno (University of the Basque Country, Spain)
On the role of Synthetic Biology in the investigation of minimal cognition: an argument from the point of view of regulation - PDF

14.00 – F. Bianchini (University of Bologna, Italy)
Emergence from biology to cognition: the case of super-organisms - PDF

14.20 - Discussion

14.40

Open Question session – Question 11
What are the characteristics and roles of synthetic models?

14.40 – M. J. Schroeder (Akita International University, Japan)
Modeling of Life and Cognition: Synthetic, but Not Alchemic - PDF

15.00 – M. Bertolaso (University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy)
On the Bio-Logic of Soft Robotics: Cognitive Robotics as Functional Integrated Systems - PDF

15.20 – M. Mirolli (ISTC-CNR, Italy)
The several uses of computational models as scientific tools - PDF

15.40 – Discussion

16.00

Coffee Break

16.10-16.40

Panel discussion