7th International Workshop on Active Inference

The 7th International Conference on Active Inference is an interdisciplinary venue that wants to bring together researchers on Active Inference and related research fields to discuss current trends, novel results, and real-world applications. We have an interest in exploring the extent to which active inference can be used in modern machine learning settings, such as in hybrid setups combining it with deep learning, as well as to unify the latest psychological and neurological insights, and to determine how it can best be used to understand action, optimization, and decision making.

IWAI 2026 theme will be foundations and will address three core streams of Bayesian Brain research and Active Inference:

Computational Theory and Simulations
- Mathematical and computational developments.
Cognitive, Philosophical, and Neural Models
- Modeling biological, neural, and cognitive phenomena, and integrating applied philosophy.
Empirical, Clinical, and Real-World Applications
- Data-driven studies applied to robotics, IoT, clinical, industrial, and societal challenges.

We expect contributions from different areas of research, such as Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Robotics, Machine Learning, Cognitive Science, Philosophy, etc. We look forward to your contributions and participation at IWAI 2026!

Call for papers

Papers on all subjects and applications of active inference and related research areas are welcome. The workshop's focus is on the technical implementation of the ideas. Consequently, topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

Active inference, theory and applications
Predictive coding
Hierarchical generative models
Computational neuroscience
Cognitive robotics
Intelligent systems
Neuroeconomics
Cognitive science
Decision making

Submissions

Submissions are accepted in two formats: full papers and extended abstracts. Submission follows a two-stage process. All authors must first complete an abstract registration on OpenReview. Only submissions with a completed abstract registration may proceed to full paper or extended abstract submission. The abstract registration requires the submission of an abstract of no more than 250 words, together with the author list and a tentative title. The abstract registration deadline is two weeks prior to the paper submission deadline and applies to both full papers and extended abstracts. Final submissions must be uploaded in PDF format via OpenReview (click here).

Full papers must be anonymized and be up to 12 pages in the LNCS format (click here for details), including figures but excluding references. All full papers will undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review process. Papers are evaluated based on originality, quality, soundness, and relevance. Full paper submissions must be anonymized to the best of the authors' efforts; the existence of a non-anonymous online preprint is permitted after acceptance notification. Accepted full papers will receive oral presentations and will be published in the proceedings in the Springer CCIS series.

Extended abstracts must be up to 2 pages, excluding references and figures. These submissions may cover the material of a journal paper published by the author in the past 12 months or may present late-breaking results. Extended abstracts will also be peer-reviewed. Accepted extended abstracts will be presented as posters and will not be published in the proceedings but will be published in the conference program.

Community Reviewing

IWAI 2026 follows a community-based, double-blind peer-review process. Authors of any submission type (full papers and extended abstracts) agree to potentially participate in the peer-review process and may be invited to serve as reviewers for full-paper submissions, with a maximum of two papers per reviewer. To support this process, all co-authors are asked to register on OpenReview, add background information and relevant publication records, and provide their profile or registered email address at the time of submission. Peer reviews will be due three weeks after the start of the review stage, and decisions will be announced one week later.

Important dates

Abstract Registration Deadline: May 24, 2026
Submission Deadline: June 7, 2026
Acceptance Notification: July 12, 2026
Workshop Date: October 14-16, 2026

Venue

The conference will be hosted at the Spanish National Research Council, the State Agency for scientific research and technological development, and the largest public research institution in Spain. Interestingly, for the IWAI foundations theme this year, Madrid was the residence of Santiago Ramón y Cajal when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He started modern neuroscience under the neuron doctrine and influenced current breakthroughs in modern artificial intelligence.

The conference venue will be in Madrid at the CSIC central Auditorium at C. de Serrano, 117, Chamartín, 28006 Madrid.

Travel information

Madrid is the capital of Spain and a vibrant and multicultural city that never stops. The European and Mediterranean cultures blend to make a distinct signature in the arts, food, and way of living. Strategically located in the centre of Spain, it is very well connected by train, bus, and plane. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport is the main international airport serving Madrid and a hub for many destinations. The airport is connected to the city by metro (line 8), bus (203 express and 200), and taxi, Uber, Cabify, etc. Prices for taxis to the centre are around 30 EUR. Check your terminal at the airport to find your best option.

The venue is in the centre of Madrid, close to metro stations: República Argentina, Nuevos Ministerios. You can directly arrive at the venue by metro line 8 from the airport to Nuevos Ministerios and then walk 15 minutes. The Auditorium is situated inside the CSIC facility; you need to enter through the main CSIC entrance and walk a little until you reach the main building.

Accommodation

There are plenty of hotels in Madrid for all price ranges. It is a very safe city with a fast metro. We are looking for some offers in hotels; we will keep you posted.

Sponsors and partners

IWAI 2026 welcomes sponsorship from industry partners seeking to draw real-world applications from an emerging foundational theory of human cognition. The workshop highlights active inference as an innovative framework for intelligent behavior, extending predictive coding to situation-aware planning, decision-making, control, and learning under a unifying principle of free energy minimization. The theory provides a principled alternative for industry that complements and extends established approaches such as optimal control, reinforcement learning, and deep learning.

Organizers

General Chair: Pablo Lanillos

Technical Program Chairs: Martijn Wisse, Ivilin Peev Stoianov

Organization committee

Mahault Albarracin, VERSES, USA
Christopher Buckley, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
Daria De Tinguy, Ghent University, Belgium
Pablo Lanillos, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Netherlands
Riddhi J. Pitliya, VERSES, USA
Hideaki Shimazaki, Kyoto University, Japan
Ivilin Peev Stoianov, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), Italy
Tim Verbelen, VERSES, USA
Martijn Wisse, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

IWAI 2026

7th International Workshop
on Active Inference

14-16 October 2026 in Madrid, Spain

Programme

Registration