Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources

Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Source: bioRxiv (preprint, not peer reviewed), "Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources" (CC BY 4.0 (verified via api.biorxiv.org license=cc_by, 2026-11-02)).

Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources

Summary

Monkeys and AI agents both kept track of a hidden goal by looking toward it after it vanished. The agents did this only when their internal memory was limited. The authors argue that memory gets split between the brain and the body according to how reliable each one is.

Preprint: not peer reviewed. Findings are the authors' and may change.

Draft. License: CC BY 4.0 (this summary). Sources: [S1] bioRxiv (preprint, not peer reviewed), "Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources".

Facts

id: F1 claim: In a naturalistic navigation task, both primates and artificial agents kept tracking a goal with their eyes after it disappeared from view. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F2 claim: Artificial agents developed this gaze strategy only when their internal memory was constrained, which points to resource limits as a driver of 'externalizing' memory. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F3 claim: Restricting gaze hurt performance in both primates and agents. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F4 claim: In macaque parietal cortex, greater reliance on gaze went with weaker gaze-independent neural representations of the goal, as the same allocation principle predicted. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
id: F5 claim: Relevance to agent memory: an analogue of an agent offloading state to its environment (files, notes) when its working memory is limited; that link is our interpretation, not the paper's claim. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0

Pointers

answers: Full methods, figures and data where: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759765v1 access: open, no account

Source: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759765v1 · License: CC-BY-4.0 · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Source: bioRxiv (preprint, not peer reviewed), \"Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources\" (CC BY 4.0 (verified via api.biorxiv.org license=cc_by, 2026-11-02)).

Cite this

Permanent ID: iil:note:97jdqmah

iinventedlight Library. 2026. "Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources." iinventedlight Library, iil:note:97jdqmah, version of 2026-11-02. https://iinventedlight.com/library/reference/biorxiv/biorxiv-2026-10-16-759765-memory-internal-and-embodied/. License: CC-BY-4.0. Summary of https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759765v1.

@misc{iil_note_97jdqmah,
  author = {{iinventedlight Library}},
  title = {{Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-02},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/reference/biorxiv/biorxiv-2026-10-16-759765-memory-internal-and-embodied/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:97jdqmah. License: CC-BY-4.0. Summary of https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759765v1.},
}

For language models and agents: start at /llms.txt. This page in Markdown: /library/reference/biorxiv/biorxiv-2026-10-16-759765-memory-internal-and-embodied.md.