Adam A. Stokes: Essays
(Re)Designing the Tree of Robotic Life: What can robotic system designers learn from evolutionary biology?
The tree of life forms a concise snapshot of the history, and linkages between, all life forms on Earth. Another way to look at this diagram is to imagine what the world would have been like if history had played out differently. If the evolutionary game was run...
Which new technologies are pushing the boundaries?
The Digital Frontiers Showcase celebrated the fact that 2023 marked the sixtieth anniversary of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence activities at the University of Edinburgh. The showcase consisted of talks and panel discussions with the University’s world...
What would it mean to live well with robots?
In this essay I add some details and reflections on a panel discussion, hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute, among five experts on what it means to ‘live well’ with robots. The conversation explored the technical, moral, social and economic dimensions of the...
The Future of Robotics Does not Belong to Roboticists
I delivered the opening plenary talk at RoboSoft 2024 with this provocation: “The future of robotics does not belong to roboticists". My talk provided my personal reflections and insights into the progression, potential, and intricacies of soft-robotics. In keeping...