PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Takashi Ikegami

Also known as 池上 高志

Takashi Ikegami is a physicist and artificial-life researcher whose work connects complex systems, robotics and language-model agents. He earned a physics doctorate at the University of Tokyo in 1989, coauthored “Computer Symbiosis” in 1990, and joined the university as an associate professor in 1994. His work spans the Seidosha book *Motion Makes Life*, the 2013 Mind Time Machine paper, and 2018 work linking artificial life research with performance. He received the International Society for Artificial Life’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, coauthored a 2025 study on GPT-4 and the Alter3 robot, and coauthored *OpenLife* in 2026. As of October 2026, he is a Project Professor at the University of Tokyo and Director of Atomi Information Science and Arts Center.

Now at
University of Tokyo and Atomi Information Science and Arts Center
Born
1961
Works
199
Citations
2,485
h-index
24
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1989–1990

    A physics PhD and Computer Symbiosis

    He earns a physics doctorate at the University of Tokyo in 1989 and coauthors “Computer Symbiosis” with Kunihiko Kaneko in 1990.

  2. 1994

    Associate professor at Tokyo

    After working at KiRI, Kyoto University and Kobe University, he joins the University of Tokyo as an associate professor in 1994.

  3. 2007–2008

    Motion Makes Life

    He publishes *Motion Makes Life*, a Seidosha book, in 2007. In May 2008, he gives a talk at the University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy about his work on complex systems, artificial life and robotics.

  4. 2013

    The Mind Time Machine

    In 2013, he publishes “A Design for Living Technology: Experiments with the Mind Time Machine” in the journal *Artificial Life*.

  5. 2018

    ALIFE 2018 and Scary Beauty

    He organizes the ALIFE International Conference in 2018. Takashi Ikegami Laboratory’s exhibition *Artificial Life Larger than Biological Life* opens at NTT InterCommunication Center in June 2018 and runs through March 2019. In July 2018, Keiichiro Shibuya’s opera *Scary Beauty* is performed at Miraikan as a public program of ALIFE 2018.

  6. 2021

    A lifetime achievement award

    He receives the International Society for Artificial Life’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

  7. 2025

    GPT-4 moves Alter3

    In 2025, he coauthors a study that uses GPT-4 to generate spontaneous motion for the humanoid robot Alter3.

  8. As of October 2026

    OpenLife and current roles

    In 2026, he coauthors *OpenLife*, a proof-of-concept for open-world artificial life with autonomous LLM agents. As of October 2026, he is a Project Professor in the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Atomi Information Science and Arts Center.

Career

  1. Since 1994University of TokyoAssociate Professor
  2. NowAtomi Information Science and Arts CenterDirector
  3. 2013–2015University of Tsukuba

Education

  1. 1989University of TokyoPhysics doctorate

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes University of Tokyo. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.
  2. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes University of Tokyo. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Tokyo. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes University of Tokyo. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Takashi Ikegami | IEEETV origin.ieeetv.ieee.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Takashi Ikegami Lab / 池上高志研究室 - PUBLICATIONS sacral.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Takashi Ikegami zen20.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. [Report] Movement Creates Life | Blog | University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy utcp.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. ICC | Takashi Ikegami Laboratory, the University of Tokyo “Artificial Life Larger than Biological Life” ntticc.or.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Blast from the future | The University of Tokyo u-tokyo.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. 2021 ISAL Awards: Winners alife.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. From text to motion: grounding GPT-4 in a humanoid robot “Alter3” frontiersin.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. OpenLife: Toward Open-World Artificial Life with Autonomous LLM Agents arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. Special Lectures｜千葉大学卓越大学院プログラム m.chiba-u.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  11. IKEGAMI Takashi | The University of Tokyo u-tokyo.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.