Month: September 2022

DIGITAL PRIMORDIAL SOUP. "He cooked up a batch of primordial data-soup by generating fifty random blobs of ones and zeros. One by one his computer loaded these digital genomes into the FPGA chip, played the two distinct audio tones, and rated each genome’s fitness according to how closely its output satisfied pre-set criteria. Occasional mutations were introduced into the fruit of their digital loins when the control program randomly changed a one or a zero here and there." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

EMERGENT PHENOMENA IN SILICO. "Finally, after just over 4,000 generations, test system settled upon the best program. As predicted, the principle of natural selection could successfully produce specialized circuits using a fraction of the resources a human would have required. And no one had the foggiest notion how it worked." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

PERPLEXING. "Dr. Thompson peered inside his perfect offspring to gain insight into its methods, but what he found inside was baffling. The plucky chip was utilizing only thirty-seven of its one hundred logic gates, and most of them were arranged in a curious collection of feedback loops." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

ADAPTED FOR ELECTRONIC MICROENVIRONMENT. "It seems that evolution had not merely selected the best code for the task, it had also advocated those programs which took advantage of the electromagnetic quirks of that specific microchip environment." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

UNORTHODOX ADAPTATION. "The five separate logic cells were clearly crucial to the chip’s operation, but they were interacting with the main circuitry through some unorthodox method— most likely via the subtle magnetic fields that are created when electrons flow through circuitry, an effect known as magnetic flux." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

"EVOLVING CIRCUITRY. “Engineers are experimenting with rudimentary adaptive hardware systems which marry evolvable chips to conventional equipment. Such hybrids quickly adapt to new demands by constantly evolving and adjusting their control code.” https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

SELF-REPAIRING DREAM. "The space exploration industry is intrigued by the technology— an evolving system could dynamically reprogram itself to avoid any circuits damaged by radiation, reducing the need for heavy shielding and redundant systems. Similarly, researchers speculate that robots might one day use evolution-inspired systems to quickly adapt to unforeseen obstacles in their environment." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

MATING SUPERCOMPUTERS. "Modern supercomputers are also contributing to artificial evolution, applying their massive processing power to develop simulated prototypes. The initial designs are thoroughly tested within carefully crafted virtual environments, and the best candidates are used to breed successive batches until a satisfactory solution has evolved." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

"NASA recently used this approach to produce the antenna for a spacegoing vessel, resulting in flamboyant-yet-effective shapes that vaguely resemble organic lifeforms— unlike anything an engineer would design without the benefit of mood-altering drugs. Scientists hope to eventually use genetic algorithms to improve complex devices such as motors and rockets, but progress is dependent upon the development of extremely accurate simulations." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn

EVOLUTION IS MESSY. "These evolutionary computer systems may almost appear to demonstrate a kind of sentience as they dispense graceful solutions to complex problems. But this apparent intelligence is an illusion caused by the fact that the overwhelming majority of design variations tested by the system— most of them appallingly unfit for the task— are never revealed." https://lnkd.in/e5p4fXs View in LinkedIn