52,176 research outputs found
In silico transitions to multicellularity
The emergence of multicellularity and developmental programs are among the
major problems of evolutionary biology. Traditionally, research in this area
has been based on the combination of data analysis and experimental work on one
hand and theoretical approximations on the other. A third possibility is
provided by computer simulation models, which allow to both simulate reality
and explore alternative possibilities. These in silico models offer a powerful
window to the possible and the actual by means of modeling how virtual cells
and groups of cells can evolve complex interactions beyond a set of isolated
entities. Here we present several examples of such models, each one
illustrating the potential for artificial modeling of the transition to
multicellularity.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Book chapter of Evolutionary transitions to
multicellular life (Springer
Evolved Open-Endedness in Cultural Evolution: A New Dimension in Open-Ended Evolution Research
The goal of Artificial Life research, as articulated by Chris Langton, is "to
contribute to theoretical biology by locating life-as-we-know-it within the
larger picture of life-as-it-could-be" (1989, p.1). The study and pursuit of
open-ended evolution in artificial evolutionary systems exemplifies this goal.
However, open-ended evolution research is hampered by two fundamental issues;
the struggle to replicate open-endedness in an artificial evolutionary system,
and the fact that we only have one system (genetic evolution) from which to
draw inspiration. Here we argue that cultural evolution should be seen not only
as another real-world example of an open-ended evolutionary system, but that
the unique qualities seen in cultural evolution provide us with a new
perspective from which we can assess the fundamental properties of, and ask new
questions about, open-ended evolutionary systems, especially in regard to
evolved open-endedness and transitions from bounded to unbounded evolution.
Here we provide an overview of culture as an evolutionary system, highlight the
interesting case of human cultural evolution as an open-ended evolutionary
system, and contextualise cultural evolution under the framework of (evolved)
open-ended evolution. We go on to provide a set of new questions that can be
asked once we consider cultural evolution within the framework of open-ended
evolution, and introduce new insights that we may be able to gain about evolved
open-endedness as a result of asking these questions.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, submitted to Artificial Life journal
(special issue on Open-Ended Evolution
Mechanical generation of networks with surplus complexity
In previous work I examined an information based complexity measure of
networks with weighted links. The measure was compared with that obtained from
by randomly shuffling the original network, forming an Erdos-Renyi random
network preserving the original link weight distribution. It was found that
real world networks almost invariably had higher complexity than their shuffled
counterparts, whereas networks mechanically generated via preferential
attachment did not. The same experiment was performed on foodwebs generated by
an artificial life system, Tierra, and a couple of evolutionary ecology
systems, EcoLab and WebWorld. These latter systems often exhibited the same
complexity excess shown by real world networks, suggesting that the complexity
surplus indicates the presence of evolutionary dynamics.
In this paper, I report on a mechanical network generation system that does
produce this complexity surplus. The heart of the idea is to construct the
network of state transitions of a chaotic dynamical system, such as the Lorenz
equation. This indicates that complexity surplus is a more fundamental trait
than that of being an evolutionary system.Comment: Accepted for ACALCI 2015 Newcastle, Australi
Open problems in artificial life
This article lists fourteen open problems in artificial life, each of which is a grand challenge requiring a major advance on a fundamental issue for its solution. Each problem is briefly explained, and, where deemed helpful, some promising paths to its solution are indicated
The meaning of life in a developing universe
The evolution of life on Earth has produced an organism that is beginning to model and understand its own evolution and the possible future evolution of life in the universe. These models and associated evidence show that evolution on Earth has a trajectory. The scale over which living processes are organized cooperatively has increased progressively, as has its evolvability. Recent theoretical advances raise the possibility that this trajectory is itself part of a wider developmental process. According to these theories, the developmental process has been shaped by a larger evolutionary process that involves the reproduction of universes. This evolutionary process has tuned the key parameters of the universe to increase the likelihood that life will emerge and develop to produce outcomes that are successful in the larger process (e.g. a key outcome may be to produce life and intelligence that intentionally reproduces the universe and tunes the parameters of ‘offspring’ universes). Theory suggests that when life emerges on a planet, it moves along this trajectory of its own accord. However, at a particular point evolution will continue to advance only if organisms emerge that decide to advance the evolutionary process intentionally. The organisms must be prepared to make this commitment even though the ultimate nature and destination of the process is uncertain, and may forever remain unknown. Organisms that complete this transition to intentional evolution will drive the further development of life and intelligence in the universe. Humanity’s increasing understanding of the evolution of life in the universe is rapidly bringing it to the threshold of this major evolutionary transition
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