Complex and Non-Complex Phase Structures in Models of Spin Glasses and Information Processing

The gauge theory of spin glasses and statistical-mechanical formulation of error-correcting codes are reviewed with an emphasis on their similarities. For the gauge theory, we explain the functional identities on dynamical autocorrelation functions and on the distribution functions of order parameters. These functional identities restrict the possibilities of slow dynamics and complex structure of the phase space. An inequality for error-correcting codes is shown to be interpreted to indicate non-monotonicity of spin orientation as a function of the temperature in spin glasses.Comment: 13 pages; Proceedings of the International Symposium on Slow Dynamics in Nature, Seoul, Korea, November 2001; to be published in Physica

Human Computation and Convergence

Humans are the most effective integrators and producers of information, directly and through the use of information-processing inventions. As these inventions become increasingly sophisticated, the substantive role of humans in processing information will tend toward capabilities that derive from our most complex cognitive processes, e.g., abstraction, creativity, and applied world knowledge. Through the advancement of human computation - methods that leverage the respective strengths of humans and machines in distributed information-processing systems - formerly discrete processes will combine synergistically into increasingly integrated and complex information processing systems. These new, collective systems will exhibit an unprecedented degree of predictive accuracy in modeling physical and techno-social processes, and may ultimately coalesce into a single unified predictive organism, with the capacity to address societies most wicked problems and achieve planetary homeostasis.Comment: Pre-publication draft of chapter. 24 pages, 3 figures; added references to page 1 and 3, and corrected typ

The use of information theory in evolutionary biology

Information is a key concept in evolutionary biology. Information is stored in biological organism's genomes, and used to generate the organism as well as to maintain and control it. Information is also "that which evolves". When a population adapts to a local environment, information about this environment is fixed in a representative genome. However, when an environment changes, information can be lost. At the same time, information is processed by animal brains to survive in complex environments, and the capacity for information processing also evolves. Here I review applications of information theory to the evolution of proteins as well as to the evolution of information processing in simulated agents that adapt to perform a complex task.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures. To appear in "The Year in Evolutionary Biology", of the Annals of the NY Academy of Science

On a New Type of Information Processing for Efficient Management of Complex Systems

It is a challenge to manage complex systems efficiently without confronting NP-hard problems. To address the situation we suggest to use self-organization processes of prime integer relations for information processing. Self-organization processes of prime integer relations define correlation structures of a complex system and can be equivalently represented by transformations of two-dimensional geometrical patterns determining the dynamics of the system and revealing its structural complexity. Computational experiments raise the possibility of an optimality condition of complex systems presenting the structural complexity of a system as a key to its optimization. From this perspective the optimization of a system could be all about the control of the structural complexity of the system to make it consistent with the structural complexity of the problem. The experiments also indicate that the performance of a complex system may behave as a concave function of the structural complexity. Therefore, once the structural complexity could be controlled as a single entity, the optimization of a complex system would be potentially reduced to a one-dimensional concave optimization irrespective of the number of variables involved its description. This might open a way to a new type of information processing for efficient management of complex systems.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to be presented at the International Conference on Complex Systems, Boston, October 28 - November 2, 200

Molecular Computing: from conformational pattern recognition to complex processing networks

Natural biomolecular systems process information in a radically different manner than programmable machines. Conformational interactions, the basis of specificity and self-assembly, are of key importance. A gedanken device is presented that illustrates how the fusion of information through conformational self-organization can serve to enhance pattern processing at the cellular level. The device is used to highlight general features of biomolecular information processing. We briefly outline a simulation system designed to address the manner in which conformational processing interacts with kinetic and higher level structural dynamics in complex biochemical networks. Virtual models that capture features of biomolecular information processing can in some instances have artificial intelligence value in their own right and should serve as design tools for future computers built from real molecules

A Functional Architecture Approach to Neural Systems

The technology for the design of systems to perform extremely complex combinations of real-time functionality has developed over a long period. This technology is based on the use of a hardware architecture with a physical separation into memory and processing, and a software architecture which divides functionality into a disciplined hierarchy of software components which exchange unambiguous information. This technology experiences difficulty in design of systems to perform parallel processing, and extreme difficulty in design of systems which can heuristically change their own functionality. These limitations derive from the approach to information exchange between functional components. A design approach in which functional components can exchange ambiguous information leads to systems with the recommendation architecture which are less subject to these limitations. Biological brains have been constrained by natural pressures to adopt functional architectures with this different information exchange approach. Neural networks have not made a complete shift to use of ambiguous information, and do not address adequate management of context for ambiguous information exchange between modules. As a result such networks cannot be scaled to complex functionality. Simulations of systems with the recommendation architecture demonstrate the capability to heuristically organize to perform complex functionality

Multilingual manager: a new strategic role in organizations

Today?s knowledge management (KM) systems seldom account for language management and, especially, multilingual information processing. Document management is one of the strongest components of KM systems. If these systems do not include a multilingual knowledge management policy, intranet searches, excessive document space occupancy and redundant information slow down what are the most effective processes in a single language environment. In this paper, we model information flow from the sources of knowledge to the persons/systems searching for specific information. Within this framework, we focus on the importance of multilingual information processing, which is a hugely complex component of modern organizations

Complex Event Processing (CEP)

Event-driven information systems demand a systematic and automatic processing of events. Complex Event Processing (CEP) encompasses methods, techniques, and tools for processing events while they occur, i.e., in a continuous and timely fashion. CEP derives valuable higher-level knowledge from lower-level events; this knowledge takes the form of so called complex events, that is, situations that can only be recognized as a combination of several events. 1 Application Areas Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Event-Driven Architecture (EDA), cost-reductions in sensor technology and the monitoring of IT systems due to legal, contractual, or operational concerns have lead to a significantly increased generation of events in computer systems in recent years. This development is accompanied by a demand to manage and process these events in an automatic, systematic, and timely fashion. Important application areas for Complex Event Processing (CEP) are the following