An Eye for an ’I’: Investigating the Relationship between Embodiment and Agency and the Possibilities for Artificial Intelligence Models
Kira G. B. Miller

Abstract:
This thesis examines the relationship between embodiment and agency with specific reference to Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. It argues that a sense of embodiment is a necessary condition of agency because agents must be able to sense and manipulate the external world that they inhabit. I argue that although some AI models are low-level agents, high-level embodied agency has the potential to help AI models overcome their current limitations by allowing them to learn from and ground meaning in first-hand experience. I explore existing robotic technology and agentive machine learning architectures to make the case that embodied artificial agents are possible and, if achieved, have the potential to be significantly more powerful, efficient, and versatile than current AI models.