First edition of the Life, Structure, and Cognition (LSC) event - IHES
logo LSC 2022 Event

First edition of the Life, Structure, and Cognition (LSC) event

LSC, for Life, Structure, and Cognition, is a new initiative led by Yves Barral (ETH Zurich), Mikhail Gromov (IHES, University of Paris-Saclay), Robert Penner (IHES, University of Paris-Saclay), and Vasily Pestun (IHES, University of Paris-Saclay).

The goal of this event is to provide an annual update on the latest advancements in LSC components and to explore the modalities for cooperative progress between Biology and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The objective is to investigate how biological systems evolved cognitive functions, using AI both as a concept toolbox and as a tool; and in turn, to investigate how biological systems can serve as models for understanding and stimulating new advances in AI.

The idea is to organize an annual evaluation, expert discussion, and lecture series on these topics, given by world experts covering multiple disciplines.


This year the first edition of the Life, Structure, and Cognition – LSC 2022 event takes place!

For the LSC 2022, two events are scheduled:

1) LSC 2022 Webinars: there will be two webinars leading to the meeting followed by more in the Fall.

  • A first webinar, given by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer (Microsoft Research Lab, Montreal & Inria Bordeaux-Ouest), will take place on May 18, 2022, who will present a research program called Development AI, which studies open-ended developmental and learning models with the goal of building machines that learn like children.
  • A second webinar will be given by Eugene V. Koonin (NIH Bethesda) on June 7, 2022, and will focus on the evolution of complexity and the origins of life with its complexity.

2) LSC 2022 Meeting

Header - LSC 2022 meetingThe LSC 2022 Meeting is organized by Yves Barral (ETH Zurich), Mikhail Gromov (IHES & NYU), Robert Penner (IHES & UCLA), and Vasily Pestun (IHES & IBM Research), together with Nicolas Minc from the Institute Jacques Monod.

The invited guests will be:

  • Yves Barral, Cellular Biology, ETH Zurich
  • Consuelo De MoralesBiocommunication, ETH Zurich 
  • Mikhail Gromov, Mathematical Biology, IHES & NYU
  • Eugene V. KooninEvolutionary Genetics, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health
  • Yann LeCunComputational and Biological Learning, New York University & Meta AI 
  • Mark MescherEvolutionary Ecology, ETH Zurich 
  • Nicolas Minc, Evolutionary Ecology, ETH Zurich 
  • Robert Penner, Mathematical Biology, IHES & UCLA
  • Vasily Pestun, Theoretical Physics, and Machine Learning, IHES & IBM Research
  • Simon TownsendComparative Communication and Cognition, University of Zurich 
  • Yukiko YamashitaCellular Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

The LSC 2022 (June 26 – July 1) will consist of:

  • Informal exchanges among the invited guests, the LSC constitutive committee members and meeting organizers, and the scientific community at large at IHES for the full duration of the meeting.
  • Hybrid Public Lectures (June 27 – 30) at the Institut Jacques Monod, Amphithéâtre Buffon (Consuelo De Moraes, Mark Mescher, Simon Townsend)

To find out more about the LSC 2022 event, and to learn more about the program, visit the dedicated web page.