BEST RESEARCH PAPER CONFERRED TO SATHISH SAMPATH FRSPH, CEO MESMA LAB (21-23 Jan 2026)
Meta-Stable Readiness, Intelligent Agents, and the Future of Emotional Intelligence
We are honoured to share a defining milestone in the journey of MESMA Lab.
At the International Applied Neuropsychology & Decision Science Conference (IANDSC) 2026, our research paper titled:
“Meta-Stable Readiness in Intelligent Agents:
A Dynamical Systems Account of Sustained Proximity to Action Without Commitment or Collapse”
was awarded the Best Research Paper Award 2026.
The award was conferred to Sathish Sampath, FRSPH, CEO of MESMA Lab, at the conference held from 21st–23rd January 2026 at JIPMER, Pondicherry (Pondicherry University).
Why This Research Matters
At the heart of this work lies a question that defines both human intelligence and the next generation of artificial systems:
How can an intelligent agent remain ready to act — without rushing into action, freezing, or collapsing under uncertainty?
The paper introduces the concept of Meta-Stable Readiness — a state where an agent stays dynamically poised between perception, emotion, and decision-making.
Not reactive.
Not rigid.
But aware, adaptive, and emotionally coherent.
This idea directly informs how future emotional robots, adaptive systems, and cognitively intelligent agents should be designed — especially those intended to interact with humans in sensitive, high-stakes environments.
From Theory to MESMA
This research forms a foundational pillar of Project MESMA — our vision to build the quintessential emotional robot, grounded not just in computation, but in emotional regulation, readiness, and context sensitivity.
Traditional AI systems optimise for speed or accuracy.
MESMA systems optimise for readiness with restraint — the same quality that defines mature human intelligence.
Meta-stable readiness allows an agent to:
- sense emotional and cognitive context
- stay close to action without impulsivity
- avoid collapse under ambiguity
- respond with psychological timing, not mechanical urgency
This is intelligence beyond reaction — intelligence with emotional depth.
Affiliations and Academic of MESMA
MESMA DOES NOT STOP JUST WITH SUBMISSION – IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS STANDARD RECOGNISING BODIES.
- The World Health Organization (WHO)
- The International Council of Psychologists (ICP)
- The International Association of Applied Psychology
Beyond the Award
This award is not an endpoint.
It is a signal.
A signal that the future of intelligence — human or artificial — cannot be built on cognition alone.
It must integrate emotion, timing, restraint, and meaning.
At MESMA Lab, our work continues to bridge:
- neuropsychology
- decision science
- emotional intelligence
- and future human–machine coexistence
Meta-stable readiness is not just a model for intelligent agents — it is a model for the future human.
Looking Ahead
As we advance Project MESMA and Project Future Human, this research will continue to inform how we design systems that do not merely decide, but understand.
We are grateful to the conference leadership, academic reviewers, and global collaborators who made this recognition possible.
The future of intelligence is not faster thinking.
It is deeper awareness.
And this is only the beginning.
— MESMA Lab
