AI and biology are advancing by leaps and bounds. They also merging. Prof. Bongard will discuss one such intersection point: the creation of a “xenobot”, the world’s first organism designed by an AI. Prof. Bongard will focus on the implications of this for our students:  How do we prepare the next generation to live, work, and thrive in a future filled with creatures that are mixtures of living and technological components? How do we help them to cultivate respect for life, at the same time that they direct future AI systems to stretch living systems into new forms and functions?