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[2510.07117] The Conditions of Physical Embodiment Enable Generalization and Care
Summary
This paper explores how physical embodiment in artificial agents can enhance their ability to generalize and provide care in uncertain environments, emphasizing the importance of being part of the environment and the implications of mortality.
Why It Matters
As AI systems are increasingly deployed in complex, real-world scenarios like eldercare and disaster response, understanding how physical embodiment influences their decision-making and care capabilities is crucial. This research could lead to more reliable and empathetic AI systems that can adapt to dynamic environments.
Key Takeaways
- Physical embodiment enhances AI's ability to generalize across different environments.
- Mortality and vulnerability can drive AI systems to develop care-oriented behaviors.
- A reinforcement-learning framework is proposed to study the implications of embodiment in AI.
- Understanding self and others' embodiment can improve AI's interaction in multi-agent environments.
- Homeostatic drives in AI could lead to more robust and trustworthy systems.
Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence arXiv:2510.07117 (cs) [Submitted on 8 Oct 2025 (v1), last revised 12 Feb 2026 (this version, v3)] Title:The Conditions of Physical Embodiment Enable Generalization and Care Authors:Leonardo Christov-Moore, Arthur Juliani, Alex Kiefer, Joel Lehman, Nicco Reggente, B. Scot Rousse, Adam Safron, Nicolás Hinrichs, Daniel Polani, Antonio Damasio View a PDF of the paper titled The Conditions of Physical Embodiment Enable Generalization and Care, by Leonardo Christov-Moore and 9 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:As artificial agents enter open-ended physical environments -- eldercare, disaster response, and space missions -- they must persist under uncertainty while providing reliable care. Yet current systems struggle to generalize across distribution shifts and lack intrinsic motivation to preserve the well-being of others. Vulnerability and mortality are often seen as constraints to be avoided, yet organisms survive and provide care in an open-ended world with relative ease and efficiency. We argue that generalization and care arise from conditions of physical embodiment: being-in-the-world (the agent is a part of the environment) and being-towards-death (unless counteracted, the agent drifts toward terminal states). These conditions necessitate a homeostatic drive to maintain oneself and maximize the future capacity to continue doing so. Fulfilling this drive over long time horizons in multi-agent environments necess...