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Alife Digest Number 026
ALIFE LIST: Artificial Life Research List Number 26 Monday, June 25th 1990
ARTIFICIAL LIFE RESEARCH ELECTRONIC MAILING LIST
Maintained by the Indiana University Artificial Life Research Group
Contents:
AL Turing test
Any RA/PhD places available?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 90 22:03:24 -0400
From: Jordan B Pollack <pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: AL Turing test
As I slowly consider doing a bit of work relevant to Artificial Life,
Ive been thinking about the research slogan that life comes before
intelligence, so AL will work before AI.
There have historically been lots of "missing piece" arguments against
the possibility of an intelligent computer program (missing spirit,
missing common sense, missing soul, missing organic chemistry, missing
intentionality, missing emotions), and the normal response is drawn
from the universal simulation ability of general-purpose computation:
If you can describe it, we can simulate it.
If "life" is to be the new missing piece,
1) is it just a new kind of software organization?
2) is it something that emerges from an organization of PHYSICAL moving
parts? (i.e. a hardware dependency).
If 1) then (as an approach to AI) AL may be just another
implementation strategy, but if 2) then why would software simulation
be the modus operandi?
I'd seriously consider that there is some "force of life" functional
element missing from all known general purpose computers, which, if
discovered, would make operating systems difficult to crash, chess
programs to want to play checkers, and cause the flowering of
machine-learning to vistas of incredible algorithmic complexity. But I
do not know what it is or how to tell when its there! I'd even
consider that life will require some sort of non-computable hardware
substrate. Say, a dynamically changing physical structure whose
functional properties emerged from the Universe; simulating that would
first require a perfect software model of physical law.
But assuming that software alone will suffice for now, it seems
relatively easy to get parts of life, like reproduction and
evolution, (just as it is to get parts of intelligence, like
problem solving and game playing), but it may be pretty hard to
get to the point where lots of people would agree a program was alive.
Does the field yet have a test for success? If not, we can
call it the Al Turing test...
Jordan Pollack Assistant Professor
CIS Dept/OSU Laboratory for AI Research
2036 Neil Ave Email: pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu
Columbus, OH 43210 Fax/Phone: (614) 292-4890
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 90 11:46:16 BST
From: Robert Davidge <davidge@computing-science.aberdeen.ac.uk>
Subject: Any RA/PhD places available?
Is there anyone who has on offer an RA or PhD studentship in AL?
I need to find a route into the centre of AL to try and satisfy a burning
enthusiasm for this science.
Any aspect of AL is of interest, but an example of possible areas could
include:
- Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Morphogenesis
- Lindenmayer systems and the growth of plants
- Simulated Ecosystems
- Evolution applied to viruses or computer operating systems
- Modelling cellular or population dynamics using Cellular Automata
- Modelling animal behaviour by animation or autonomous robot
- Modelling the evolution of DNA & protein synthetic systems
- Recreating the evolution of life from a primordial information soup.
- Nanotechnology/Biotechnology and the development of micro or organic
robots
Qualifications:
BSc Botany & Zoology
MSc Applied AI
Currently RA on machine learning project
Further information and CV supplied on request.
Robert Davidge
Department of Computer Science
Aberdeen University
Aberdeen AB9 2UB
Scotland
davidge@uk.ac.abdn.cs
------------------------------
End of ALife Digest
********************************
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End of Alife Digest
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From: Eric T. Freeman <efreeman%bronze.ucs.indiana.edu@mitvma.mit.edu>
To: alife-mailing-list@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu
Subject: Artificial Life Digest, #26
ALIFE LIST: Artificial Life Research List Number 26 Monday, June 25th 1990
ARTIFICIAL LIFE RESEARCH ELECTRONIC MAILING LIST
Maintained by the Indiana University Artificial Life Research Group
Contents:
AL Turing test
Any RA/PhD places available?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 90 22:03:24 -0400
From: Jordan B Pollack <pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: AL Turing test
As I slowly consider doing a bit of work relevant to Artificial Life,
Ive been thinking about the research slogan that life comes before
intelligence, so AL will work before AI.
There have historically been lots of "missing piece" arguments against
the possibility of an intelligent computer program (missing spirit,
missing common sense, missing soul, missing organic chemistry, missing
intentionality, missing emotions), and the normal response is drawn
from the universal simulation ability of general-purpose computation:
If you can describe it, we can simulate it.
If "life" is to be the new missing piece,
1) is it just a new kind of software organization?
2) is it something that emerges from an organization of PHYSICAL moving
parts? (i.e. a hardware dependency).
If 1) then (as an approach to AI) AL may be just another
implementation strategy, but if 2) then why would software simulation
be the modus operandi?
I'd seriously consider that there is some "force of life" functional
element missing from all known general purpose computers, which, if
discovered, would make operating systems difficult to crash, chess
programs to want to play checkers, and cause the flowering of
machine-learning to vistas of incredible algorithmic complexity. But I
do not know what it is or how to tell when its there! I'd even
consider that life will require some sort of non-computable hardware
substrate. Say, a dynamically changing physical structure whose
functional properties emerged from the Universe; simulating that would
first require a perfect software model of physical law.
But assuming that software alone will suffice for now, it seems
relatively easy to get parts of life, like reproduction and
evolution, (just as it is to get parts of intelligence, like
problem solving and game playing), but it may be pretty hard to
get to the point where lots of people would agree a program was alive.
Does the field yet have a test for success? If not, we can
call it the Al Turing test...
Jordan Pollack Assistant Professor
CIS Dept/OSU Laboratory for AI Research
2036 Neil Ave Email: pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu
Columbus, OH 43210 Fax/Phone: (614) 292-4890
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 90 11:46:16 BST
From: Robert Davidge <davidge@computing-science.aberdeen.ac.uk>
Subject: Any RA/PhD places available?
Is there anyone who has on offer an RA or PhD studentship in AL?
I need to find a route into the centre of AL to try and satisfy a burning
enthusiasm for this science.
Any aspect of AL is of interest, but an example of possible areas could
include:
- Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Morphogenesis
- Lindenmayer systems and the growth of plants
- Simulated Ecosystems
- Evolution applied to viruses or computer operating systems
- Modelling cellular or population dynamics using Cellular Automata
- Modelling animal behaviour by animation or autonomous robot
- Modelling the evolution of DNA & protein synthetic systems
- Recreating the evolution of life from a primordial information soup.
- Nanotechnology/Biotechnology and the development of micro or organic
robots
Qualifications:
BSc Botany & Zoology
MSc Applied AI
Currently RA on machine learning project
Further information and CV supplied on request.
Robert Davidge
Department of Computer Science
Aberdeen University
Aberdeen AB9 2UB
Scotland
davidge@uk.ac.abdn.cs
------------------------------
End of ALife Digest
********************************
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=---=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= Artificial Life Distribution List =
= =
= All submissions for distribution to: alife@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu =
= All list subscriber additions, deletions, or administrative details to: =
= alife-request@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu =
= All software, tech reports to Alife depository through =
= anonymous ftp at iuvax.cs.indiana.edu in ~ftp/pub/alife =
= =
= List maintainers: Elisabeth Freeman, Eric Freeman, Marek Lugowski =
= Artificial Life Research Group, Indiana University =
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=---=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End of Alife Digest
********************************
