This is the conference. Found it through the guardian article.

Off the cuff thoughts. I see no reason at all why they couldn't have four legs and two arms. That is quadrapeds seem like a choice baked in early. I can see why intelligent aquatic life might have a harder time forming heavy industry due to lack of oxygen, but I don't think it is impossible that there are sentient squid out there. I'll read some more.

ETA: In a way it doesn't matter what the aliens originally looked like, I doubt we will see squid in a can coming our way for much the same reason that monkey in a can doesn't seem realistic. The TL;DR of that link is that to create a living self-sustaining biosystem requires too much mass and complexity, and having ultra advanced technology implies a singularity/uploads type scenario, so we wouldn't see their original bodies.

As to psychology, all bets are off if they have done significant self-modification.