Architecting Intelligence:

Humans are perhaps the most adaptable species on Earth—not because we are inherently the best at any one thing, but because we excel at learning. We don’t come equipped with a perfect model of the world; instead, we continuously update our partial understanding through experience. We can’t read minds, but we learn to interpret others’ behaviors and intentions through interaction and empathy.

As researchers, we build models that capture some of the brain’s inner workings, describe its functional components, and replicate isolated behaviors in controlled environments. But we must go beyond static systems to bring these models into the complex, ever-changing real world. We must design adaptive, developmental architectures—systems that grow, learn, and evolve, much like human infants do.

This workshop seeks to revitalize the conversation around Developmental Cognitive Architectures, creating a space for both established experts and emerging researchers to exchange ideas, share insights, and explore how we can shape the future of intelligent, autonomous systems.

• Explore how developmental principles—such as sensorimotor learning, curiosity-driven exploration, and social interaction—can inform the design of intelligent robotic systems.

•  Highlight cutting-edge work in cognitive robotics that draws inspiration from developmental processes.

•  Identify key challenges and open research questions that must be addressed to advance the field.

•  Foster interdisciplinary collaboration across AI, robotics, psychology, neuroscience, and engineering.

We warmly invite all those curious about the intersection of learning, cognition, and robotics to join us in this important discussion.

These topics are meant to be suggestive and not exhaustive. Contributions to other relevant topics will also be considered, as long as they align with the general theme of the workshop.

The workshop organizers are committed to creating an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment for all attendees. We recognize and value the diversity of our attendees and understand that people have different needs and preferences. To accommodate the different time zones of attendees, the workshop will be held in a hybrid format and will be recorded for later viewing. To ensure that all attendees have reliable access to the internet, we will provide technical support and troubleshooting assistance as needed. We encourage attendees from underrepresented groups to submit their work and participate in the workshop. We are committed to creating an equitable and diverse environment, and we are open to suggestions on how to improve the workshop in terms of inclusion and accessibility.