665 research outputs found
Impact of alife simulation of Darwinian and Lamarckian evolutionary theories
Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementUntil nowadays, the scientific community firmly rejected the Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics, a theory mostly associated with the name of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1774-1829). Though largely dismissed when applied to biological organisms, this theory found its place in a young discipline called Artificial Life. Based on the two abstract models of Darwinian and Lamarckian evolutionary theories built using neural networks and genetic algorithms, this research aims to present a notion of the potential impact of implementation of Lamarckian knowledge inheritance across disciplines. In order to obtain our results, we conducted a focus group discussion between experts in biology, computer science and philosophy, and used their opinions as qualitative data in our research. As a result of completing the above procedure, we have found some implications of such implementation in each mentioned discipline. In synthetic biology, this means that we would engineer organisms precisely up to our specific needs. At the moment, we can think of better drugs, greener fuels and dramatic changes in chemical industry. In computer science, Lamarckian evolutionary algorithms have been used for quite some years, and quite successfully. However, their application in strong ALife can only be approximated based on the existing roadmaps of futurists. In philosophy, creating artificial life seems consistent with nature and even God, if there is one. At the same time, this implementation may contradict the concept of free will, which is defined as the capacity for an agent to make choices in which the outcome has not been determined by past events. This study has certain limitations, which means that larger focus group and more prepared participants would provide more precise results
An Artificial Life Simulation Library Based on Genetic Algorithm, 3-Character Genetic Code and Biological Hierarchy
Genetic algorithm (GA) is inspired by biological evolution of genetic
organisms by optimizing the genotypic combinations encoded within each
individual with the help of evolutionary operators, suggesting that GA may be a
suitable model for studying real-life evolutionary processes. This paper
describes the design of a Python library for artificial life simulation,
Digital Organism Simulation Environment (DOSE), based on GA and biological
hierarchy starting from genetic sequence to population. A 3-character
instruction set that does not take any operand is introduced as genetic code
for digital organism. This mimics the 3-nucleotide codon structure in naturally
occurring DNA. In addition, the context of a 3-dimensional world composing of
ecological cells is introduced to simulate a physical ecosystem. Using DOSE, an
experiment to examine the changes in genetic sequences with respect to mutation
rates is presented
Sonic stuff : objects and objectiles
PhD ThesisThis thesis investigates the role of objects in creative practice as alluring and evocative
materials that disrupt compositional intentions and trajectories. This research does not
begin from music as a cultural text but rather from the deeper experiences of sound as
resistant materials that animate experiential space with their own styles of atmosphere,
ambience and inaudible-audible signatures. Working across and often at the peripheries
of the theoretical disciplines of object orientated ontology and process philosophy I
address the philosophical issue of how sounds and objects possess the potential to
unsettle, agitate and reconfigure networks of relation.
Practice has informed a hybridisation of concepts derived from various disciplines,
which are held together by threads of fictionalised prose that contribute alternative
insights into the field of studio-based composition. This research employs a
phenomenological method of reduction and at times an object orientated approach in
theorising the autonomous life of sounds and objects. Dense descriptions of
experiences, observations, thoughts and poetics form the basis for developing an
informed creative treatise. Deviating descriptions of sensuous experiences are
deployed throughout this research in order to find personal and meaningful ways of
articulating sonic encounter.
What are the multiple contours of Sonic Stuff? Is there an identity of sonic potential?
What tensions/relations occur between the composer, studio and sonic object? In what
form does Sonic Stuff reveal and characterise experiential time and space? What do the
concepts of the withdrawn and revealed afford an understanding of sonic objects and
sound in-itself
Computing multi-scale organizations built through assembly
The ability to generate and control assembling structures built over many orders of magnitude is an unsolved challenge of engineering and science. Many of the presumed transformational benefits of nanotechnology and robotics are based directly on this capability. There are still significant theoretical difficulties associated with building such systems, though technology is rapidly ensuring that the tools needed are becoming available in chemical, electronic, and robotic domains. In this thesis a simulated, general-purpose computational prototype is developed which is capable of unlimited assembly and controlled by external input, as well as an additional prototype which, in structures, can emulate any other computing device. These devices are entirely finite-state and distributed in operation. Because of these properties and the unique ability to form unlimited size structures of unlimited computational power, the prototypes represent a novel and useful blueprint on which to base scalable assembly in other domains.
A new assembling model of Computational Organization and Regulation over Assembly Levels (CORAL) is also introduced, providing the necessary framework for this investigation. The strict constraints of the CORAL model allow only an assembling unit of a single type, distributed control, and ensure that units cannot be reprogrammed - all reprogramming is done via assembly. Multiple units are instead structured into aggregate computational devices using a procedural or developmental approach. Well-defined comparison of computational power between levels of organization is ensured by the structure of the model. By eliminating ambiguity, the CORAL model provides a pragmatic answer to open questions regarding a framework for hierarchical organization.
Finally, a comparison between the designed prototypes and units evolved using evolutionary algorithms is presented as a platform for further research into novel scalable assembly. Evolved units are capable of recursive pairing ability under the control of a signal, a primitive form of unlimited assembly, and do so via symmetry-breaking operations at each step. Heuristic evidence for a required minimal threshold of complexity is provided by the results, and challenges and limitations of the approach are identified for future evolutionary studies
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