Artificial
Life Forms Evolve Basic Intelligence
Michigan State University (MSU) researchers
have developed “digital organisms” called
Avidians that were made to evolve memory,
and could eventually be used to generate intelligent
artificial life and evolve into symmetrical,
organized artificial brains that share
structural properties with real brains. MSU
researcher Jeff Clune works with a system
called HyperNEAT, which uses principles
of developmental biology to grow a large
number of digital neurons from a small number
of instructions.He translated the artificial
neurons into code that could control a Roomba
robot. You can build complex brains from a
relatively small number of computerized
instructions, or “genes,” he says. Their
brains have millions of connections, yet still
perform a task well, and that number could be
pushed higher yet. “This is a sea change for
the field. Being able to evolve functional
brains at this scale allows us to begin
pushing the capabilities of artificial neural
networks up, and opens up a path to evolving
artificial brains that rival their natural
counterparts.”