Life = Language?

On 28 October, Martin Dominik led a GRCDI discussion hour about whether language could be the key to understanding life, and the links this has to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. We enjoyed a wide-ranging and thought-provoking discussion, with one key question emerging: what would convince us that a signal received from space had been …

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Macquarie MIRC team visit the GRCDI

The GRCDI team were delighted to welcome Dr Hoda Mostafavi and Prof Andrew Barron to St Andrews in September 2026 as part of a staff exchange with the Minds and Intelligences Research Centre (MIRC, Macquarie University) hosted at Macquarie University (Australia) and the GRCDI. As global hubs working to advance research and collaboration in Diverse …

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Intelligence without brains?

On 29 September 2026, the Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences welcomed Dr Bianca Bonato (University of Padova) for a research seminar and Discussion Hour on plant cognition and behaviour. In her seminar, Beyond the Brain: Cognition, Communication, and Social Behaviour in Plants, Bianca explored cognitive processes beyond the boundaries of the nervous system, drawing …

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Why the honey bee is smarter than ChatGPT

On 24 September, the Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences welcomed Professor Andrew Barron from Macquarie University, Australia to share his work on bee cognition. His lecture considered how we might assess and compare intelligence in radically different forms of natural and artificial intelligence and what lessons AI and robotics developers might have to learn …

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Upcoming GRCDI Talks and events

We have an exciting programme of talks and events planned for the second half of 2026. All of our events are free to attend in St Andrews and will also be streamed live on YouTube. If you would like to attend in person, please register in advance, as spaces are limited and can fill up …

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Normative Intelligence: An Interdisciplinary Workshop in Cagliari

As part of the interdisciplinary initiatives promoted by the Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences (GRCDI), Filippo Aureli, Amalia Bastos, and Giuseppe Lorini organized the workshop “Normative Intelligence” at the Department of Law of the University of Cagliari from 24 to 26 June 2026. The workshop was devoted to examining the idea of normative intelligence …

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Collective Emergence and Intentionality: an interdisciplinary workshop at The Burn

From 17–20 July 2026, the Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences (GRCDI) hosted the Collective Emergence and Intentionality workshop at The Burn in Edzell, Scotland. Funded by GRCDI as part of its ongoing mission to support interdisciplinary research across the diverse intelligences field, the workshop brought together researchers from a wide range of disciplines and …

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Announcing the winners of the GRCDI Small Research Project Grants

The Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences is pleased to announce the recipients of our Small Research Project Grants. Each recipient will receive up to £40,000 to support new research exploring a broad range of questions across the field of Diverse Intelligences. We received a strong set of applications from projects based in nine different …

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Announcing the GRCDI Interdisciplinary Thematic Workshops

As part of our mission to promote study and discussion of diverse intelligences. The Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences has selected two new workshops we will be helping to support in the coming year. These events come from our recent call, which received a great field of submissions and ideas for workshops to bring …

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Save The Date: Diverse Intelligences Summit 2027

The Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences is pleased to announce that the Diverse Intelligences Summit will return to St Andrews from 6–8 August 2027. The three-day summit will bring together researchers working across the breadth of Diverse Intelligences, with talks, discussions, and opportunities to build new connections across fields including developmental psychology, artificial intelligence, …

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