Publications

Selected publications, conference papers, journal articles, preprints, commentaries, and edited volumes by Manuel Baltieri.

Selected publications

  • Compositional Behavioral Semantics for State Abstraction in Reinforcement Learning, Zhang, Y., Luo, Z., & Baltieri, M., International Conference on Machine Learning - ICML (2026).   [link]   [preprint]
  • World models: environment, agent and joint agent-environment models. Baltieri, M., Torresan, F., Zhang, Y., Boyd, A., & Rosas, F. E. (2026).   [preprint]
  • Bayesian updates from coalgebraic determinisation. Baltieri, M., & Virgo, N. (2026).   [preprint]
  • Mathematical approaches to the study of agents, Baltieri, M., & Suzuki, K., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (2026, To appear).   [preprint]
  • A Bayesian Interpretation of the Internal Model Principle, Baltieri, M., Biehl, M., Capucci, M., & Virgo, N., arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.00511 (2025).   [preprint]
  • A “good regulator theorem” for embodied agents, Virgo, N., Baltieri, M., Biehl, M. & Capucci, M., Artificial Life Conference - ALIFE (2025).   [link]   [preprint]
  • AI in a vat: Fundamental limits of efficient world modelling for agent sandboxing and interpretability, Rosas, F., Boyd, A. & Baltieri, M., Reinforcement Learning Conference - RLC (2025).   [link]   [preprint]
  • Disentangled Representations for Causal Cognition, Torresan, F. & Baltieri, M., Physics of Life Reviews (2024).   [link]   [pdf]   [preprint]

Conference papers

  • Compositional Behavioral Semantics for State Abstraction in Reinforcement Learning, Zhang, Y., Luo, Z., & Baltieri, M., International Conference on Machine Learning - ICML (2026).   [link]   [preprint]
  • A Braitenberg vehicle’s habitat, Baltieri, M., Rosas, F. E., & Torresan, F., Artificial Life Conference - ALIFE (2026).   [preprint]
  • AI in a vat: Fundamental limits of efficient world modelling for agent sandboxing and interpretability, Rosas, F., Boyd, A. & Baltieri, M., Reinforcement Learning Conference - RLC (2025).   [link]   [preprint]
  • A “good regulator theorem” for embodied agents, Virgo, N., Baltieri, M., Biehl, M. & Capucci, M., Artificial Life Conference - ALIFE (2025).   [link]   [preprint]
  • Predictions in the eye of the beholder: an active inference implementation of the Watt governor, Baltieri, M., Buckley, C. L., & Bruineberg, J., Artificial Life Conference - ALIFE (2020).   [link]   [preprint]
  • A Bayesian perspective on classical control, Baltieri, M., 2020 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks - IJCNN (2020).   [link]   [preprint]
  • Scaling active inference, Tschantz, A., Baltieri, M., Seth, A. K. & Buckley, C. L., 2020 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks - IJCNN (2020).   [link]   [preprint]
  • Active Inference: Computational Models of Motor Control without Efference Copy, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Conference - CCN (2019).   [link]
  • The dark room problem in predictive processing and active inference, a legacy of cognitivism?, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., Artificial Life Conference - ALIFE (2019).   [link]   [preprint]
  • Nonmodular architectures of cognitive systems based on active inference, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., 2019 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks - IJCNN (2019).   [link]   [preprint]
  • A probabilistic interpretation of PID control, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., Simulation of Adaptive Behavior Conference - SAB (2018).   [link]   [preprint]
  • The modularity of action and perception revisited using control theory and active inference, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., Artificial Life Conference - ALIFE (2018).   [link]   [preprint]
  • An active inference implementation of phototaxis, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., European Conference on Artificial Life - ECAL (2017).   [link]   [preprint]

Journal articles

  • Mathematical approaches to the study of agents, Baltieri, M., & Suzuki, K., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (2026, To appear).   [preprint]
  • Active inference for action-unaware agents, Torresan, F., Suzuki, K., Kanai, R. & Baltieri, M., Neurocomputing (2026, Accepted).   [preprint]
  • Editorial Introduction to the 2023 Conference on Artificial Life Special Issue, Iizuka, H., Suzuki, K., Suzuki, R., Izquierdo, E. J. & Baltieri, M., Artificial Life (2025).   [link]   [pdf]
  • Disentangled Representations for Causal Cognition, Torresan, F. & Baltieri, M., Physics of Life Reviews (2024).   [link]   [pdf]   [preprint]
  • Hybrid Life: Integrating Biological, Artificial, and Cognitive Systems. Baltieri, M., Iizuka, H., Witkowski, O., Sinapayen, L., & Suzuki, K., WIREs Cognitive Science (2023).   [link]   [pdf]   [preprint]
  • The Emperor is Naked: Replies to the commentaries on the target article., Bruineberg, J., Dolega, K., Dewhurst, J., & Baltieri, M., Behavioral and Brain Science (2022).   [link]   [pdf]
  • The Emperor’s New Markov Blankets, Bruineberg, J., Dolega, K., Dewhurst, J., & Baltieri, M., Behavioral and Brain Science (2021).   [link]   [pdf]   [preprint - 2020]
  • Active inference through whiskers, Mannella, F., Maggiore, F., Baltieri, M., & Pezzulo, G. Neural Networks (2021).   [link]   [preprint]
  • Embodied Skillful Performance: Where the Action Is, Hipolito, I., Baltieri, M., Friston, K. J., & Ramstead, M. J., Synthese (2021).   [link]   [preprint]
  • PID control as a process of active inference with linear generative models, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., Entropy 21 (3), 257 (2019).   [link]

Preprints and manuscripts

  • Bayesian updates from coalgebraic determinisation. Baltieri, M., & Virgo, N. (2026).   [preprint]
  • World models: environment, agent and joint agent-environment models. Baltieri, M., Torresan, F., Zhang, Y., Boyd, A., & Rosas, F. E. (2026).   [preprint]
  • From monoliths to modules: Decomposing transducers for efficient world modelling, Boyd, A., Nowak, F., Hyland, D., Baltieri, M., Rosas, F. E. arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.02193 (2025).   [preprint]
  • Prior preferences in active inference agents: soft, hard, and goal shaping, Torresan, F., Kanai, R. & Baltieri, M., arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.03293 (2025).   [preprint]
  • The Stream of Computation: Temporal Continuity as a Missing Ingredient for Artificial Consciousness, Kanai, R., Sun, Y., & Baltieri, M., PsyArXiv (2025).   [preprint]
  • A coalgebraic perspective on predictive processing, Baltieri, M., Torresan, F., & Nakai, T., arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.16877 (2025).   [preprint]
  • A Bayesian Interpretation of the Internal Model Principle, Baltieri, M., Biehl, M., Capucci, M., & Virgo, N., arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.00511 (2025).   [preprint]

Earlier manuscripts

  • Kalman filters as the steady-state solution of gradient descent on variational free energy, Baltieri, M., & Isomura, T., arXiv preprint arXiv:2111.10530 (2021).   [preprint]
  • On Kalman-Bucy filters, linear quadratic control and active inference, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.06269 (2020).   [preprint]
  • A minimal active inference agent, McGregor, S., Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.04187 (2015).   [preprint]

Commentaries

  • Ecological causal cognition needs disentanglement: Reply to comments on “Disentangled representations for causal cognition”, Torresan, F., & Baltieri, M. Physics of life reviews 58, 7-9 (2026)   [link]   [pdf]
  • Steam-engine naturalism, Baltieri, M., & Kanai, R., PsyArXiv (2025).   [preprint]
  • Generative models as parsimonious descriptions of sensorimotor loops, Baltieri, M., & Buckley, C. L., Behavioral and Brain Sciences 42, 218 (2019) (Target article: Is coding a relevant metaphor for the brain?, Brette, R., Behavioral and Brain Sciences 42, 218 (2019)).   [link]   [preprint]

Other publications

  • Thinking about robots, Baltieri, M., A contributed chapter to Robot 100 (2021)   [Robot 100]

Editing

  • ALIFE 2025: Ciphers of Life: Proceedings of the Artificial Life Conference 2025, Witkowski, O., Adams, A. M., Sinapayen, L., Baltieri, M., & Khosravy, M., MIT Press (2025)   [link]
  • ALIFE 2023 - Ghost in the Machine: Proceedings of the 2023 Artificial Life Conference, Iizuka, H., Suzuki, K., Uno, R., Damiano, L., Spychala, N., Aguilera, M., Izquierdo, E., Suzuki, R., & Baltieri, M., MIT Press (2023)   [link]

Guest editing

  • Special Issue - Emerging Methods in Active Inference, Parr, T., Baltieri, M., van de Laar, T., Ueltzhöffer, K., Cialfi, D., & Friston, K. J., Entropy (2022), MDPI   [link]

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