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Talk: Using generative AI for planning and action in robotics

05 July 2025 14:00 - 14:30 The Royal Society Free Watch online

This event is part of the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition 2025.

Generative AI like ChatGPT has revolutionized human-machine interaction - producing text, images, and video with remarkable fluency. But what would a similar breakthrough look like for embodied systems like robots? Is it simply giving robots a ChatGPT-style interface, or could there be a deeper transformation in the offing?

This talk explores the surprising structure hidden in the latent spaces in which some of these models learn, and how optimising within them can lead to creative and useful behaviour - even in the physical world. From controlling real robots to modelling the environments they move through, we will see how generative models can be used to simulate and plan in imagination. And as these world models become more structured, they hint at a broader possibility: AI systems that allow us to derive learning from observations, that help us to explore and understand the world - and not just automate it.

Join Professor Ingmar Posner, lead of the Applied Artificial Intelligence Lab at Oxford University and a Founding Director of the Oxford Robotics Institute. His research aims to enable machines to robustly act and interact in the real world - for, with, and alongside humans.

Attending the event

This talk will be held on Saturday 5 July 2025, 2pm – 2.30pm.

  • Free to attend, no ticket required
  • The room has limited capacity, so we recommend that visitors arrive at least 10-15 minutes before the talk. We operate a first-come, first-served policy
  • This talk will take place in person at the Royal Society and will also be livestreamed on the Royal Society YouTube channel
  • Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Travel and accessibility information and details on planning your visit - contact us directly to arrange any specific accessibility requirements
  • Food and drink will be available for purchase at our onsite café

For all enquiries, please email us.

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