# Body-Grounded Perspective Formation and Conative Attunement in Artificial Agents

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.16728 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.16728/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 3 of its 22 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 May 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Integrated information theory (IIT) 4.0: Formulating the properties of phenomenal existence in physical terms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.14787/) (2022)
- [Minimal Computational Preconditions for Subjective Perspective in Artificial Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.02902/) (2026)
- [Same World, Differently Given: History-Dependent Perceptual Reorganization in Artificial Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.04637/) (2026)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Perspective Latents as an Architectural Condition for Causal Emergence in Active Inference Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.20708/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper proposes a minimal architecture for body-grounded perspective formation in artificial agents. Extending prior work, the model introduces an interoceptive viability signal, a Fisher-style metric over fused exteroceptive-interoceptive states, and a conative alignment mechanism linking bodily tendency to action readiness. In a reward-free gridworld, conation converts learned bodily tendency into stable body-directed behavior, while body-to-perspective routing allows bodily perturbations to leave a recoverable geometric residue in the perspective latent. This study shows how minimal structural conditions for artificial subjectivity can be operationalized in the phenomenological sense, through the embodied organization of how a world is given to an agent.