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Evolutionary Hardware
from the let-the-machines-breed dept
Taking evolutionary concepts and applying them to artificial intelligence software is nothing new, but suddenly, it's getting a lot more interest in the hardware field as well (Salon stuff required). There's just one problem: even when the evolutionary means come up with the necessary solution, it's not always to figure out how or why. For some, this doesn't matter. If they need the hardware to do something, and it does, they're perfectly happy -- even if they can't explain it. For others, though, this is troublesome. One other interesting aspect of this work is that, apparently, some of the "evolved" hardware runs into patent problems. This is particularly amusing, since patent protection should be designed to stop humans from "stealing" ideas from others. However, can you patent evolutionary ideas that a machine comes up with on its own? It would be difficult to suggest that ideas where somehow stolen.
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What about gay hardware?
Birds and the Bees -- yes, there's a lot they didn't tell you. Even bread mold occasionally has "sex" via fusion and produces mixed children. There are millions of bacteria on your skin having sex right now through conjugation. Bee hives in some countries have been devastated by "gay" worker bees that produce unauthorized offspring and take over the hive. Birds often form two-mother families, while some species of birds, like the New Zealand Cassawari, have trouble telling each other apart, trouble determining their own gender, so they randomly mate other cassawaris. Some plants, like the Mexican Pipe Organ Cactus, have four "genders". Why stop genetic algorithms at heterosexual mating, when alternative hardware awaits?
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Machine evolution
This concept provides some interesting and humorous corolaries to the Creationism vs Evolution debate.
( or war if you are really serious about it )
'Intelligent Design' is documented, chapter and verse, in the libraries of the Patent Office.
Evolution through Artificial Intelligence is a proven fact of life, er, Artificial Life at least.
"You mean to say my PC is descended from an Abacus? Don't be ridiculous!"
And most patent holders would dearly love to burn all Artificial Evolutionists at the stake.
sig: I didn't desert Windows
Windows deserted me: BSOD
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