Complexes

For millennia people have wondered what makes the living different from the non-living. Beginning in the mid-1980s, artificial life has studied living systems using a synthetic approach: build life in order to understand it better, be it by means of software, hardware, or wetware. This review provides a summary of the advances that led to the development of artificial life, its current research topics, and open problems and opportunities. We classify artificial life research into 14 themes: origins of life, autonomy, self-organization, adaptation (including evolution, development, and learning), ecology, artificial societies, behavior, computational biology, artificial chemistries, information, living technology, art, and philosophy. Being interdisciplinary, artificial life seems to be losing its boundaries and merging with other fields. Aguilar W, Santamaría-Bonfil G, Froese T and Gershenson C (2014) The past, present, and future of artificial life. Front. Robot. AI 1:8. http://dx....

//Please forward to whom may be interested.

 The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has an open call for postdoctoral fellowships to start in March, 2015. 

Candidates should have obtained a PhD degree within the last three years and be under 36 years, both to the date of the beginning of the fellowship.

 The area of interests of candidates should fall within complex systems, artificial life, information, evolution, cognition, robotics, and/or philosophy.

 Interested candidates should send CV and a tentative project (1 paragraph) to cgg-at-unam.mx by Monday, June 30th (if starting in September 2014, otherwise in the coming months). Full application package should be ready by Friday, July 4th at noon, Mexico City time.
 Projects can be inspired from:  http://turing.iimas.unam.mx/~cgg/projects.html

  ,  http://froese.wordpress.com/research/  and/or  http://jmsiqueiros.org Postdoctoral fellowships are between one and two years (after...

//Please forward to whom may be interested. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has an open call for postdoctoral fellowships to start in March, 2014 (with a close deadline!). Candidates should have obtained a PhD degree within the last three years and be under 36 years, both to the date of the beginning of the fellowship. The area of interests of candidates should fall within complex systems, artificial life, information, evolution, cognition, robotics, and/or philosophy. Interested candidates should send CV and a tentative project (1 paragraph) to cgg-at-unam.mx by Friday, August 2nd.   Full application package should be ready by Monday, August 5 at noon, Mexico City time. Projects can be inspired from:  http://turing.iimas.unam.mx/~cgg/projects.html Postdoctoral fellowships are between one and two years (after renewal). Spanish is not a requisite. Accepted candidates would be working at the Self-organizing Systems Lab ( http://turing.iimas.unam....

In evolutionary biology, attention to the relationship between stochastic organisms and their stochastic environments has leaned towards the adaptability and learning capabilities of the organisms rather than toward the properties of the environment. This article is devoted to the algorithmic aspects of the environment and its interaction with living organisms. We ask whether one may use the fact of the existence of life to establish how far nature is removed from algorithmic randomness. The paper uses a novel approach to behavioral evolutionary questions, using tools drawn from information theory, algorithmic complexity and the thermodynamics of computation to support an intuitive assumption about the near optimal structure of a physical environment that would prove conducive to the evolution and survival of organisms, and sketches the potential of these tools, at present alien to biology, that could be used in the future to address different and deeper questions. We contribute to the...

We extend the concept that life is an informational phenomenon, at every level of organisation, from molecules to the global ecological system. According to this thesis: (a) living is information processing, in which memory is maintained by both molecular states and ecological states as well as the more obvious nucleic acid coding; (b) this information processing has one overall function - to perpetuate itself; and (c) the processing method is filtration (cognition) of, and synthesis of, information at lower levels to appear at higher levels in complex systems (emergence). We show how information patterns, are united by the creation of mutual context, generating persistent consequences, to result in `functional information'. This constructive process forms arbitrarily large complexes of information, the combined effects of which include the functions of life. Molecules and simple organisms have already been measured in terms of functional information content; we show how quantifica...

This paper presents and overview of current and potential applications of living technology to urban problems. Living technology can be described as technology that exhibits the core features of living systems. These features can be useful to solve dynamic problems. In particular, urban problems concerning mobility, logistics, telecommunications, governance, safety, sustainability, and society and culture are presented, while solutions involving living technology are reviewed. Finally, the usefulness of describing cities as living systems is discussed. Gershenson, C. (2011). Living in Living Cities. C3 Report 2011.09.  http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.3659

//Please forward to whom may be interested. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has an open call for postdoctoral fellowships. Candidates should have obtained a PhD degree within the last three years and be under 36 years, both to the date of the beginning of the fellowship. In previous years, there has been a 50% acceptance rate. Candidates are evaluated mainly by their number of papers published in ISI-indexed journals. The area of interests of candidates should fall within complex systems, artificial life, information, evolution, cognition, robotics, and/or philosophy. Interested candidates should send CV and a tentative project (1 paragraph) to cgg-at-unam.mx Projects can be inspired from: http://turing.iimas.unam.mx/~cgg/projects.html Postdoctoral fellowships are between one and three years (renewing each year). Spanish is not a requisite. Accepted candidates would be working at the Computer Science Department of the IIMAS ( http://turing.iimas.unam.mx...

Gershenson, C. (2010). The sigma profile: A formal tool to study organization and its evolution at multiple scales. Complexity,  first published online: 10 NOV 2010. DOI: 10.1002/cplx.20350 Abstract The σ profile is presented as a tool to analyze the organization of systems at different scales, and how this organization changes in time. Describing structures at different scales as goal-oriented agents, one can define σ ∈ [0,1] (satisfaction) as the degree to which the goals of each agent at each scale have been met. σ reflects the organization degree at that scale. The σ profile of a system shows the satisfaction at different scales, with the possibility to study their dependencies and evolution. It can also be used to extend game theoretic models. The description of a general tendency on the evolution of complexity and cooperation naturally follows from the σ profile. Experiments on a virtual ecosystem are used as illustration. Full text http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cplx.2...

Call for Papers Artificial Life, Robotics, Evolvable Hardware Track @ GECCO 2011 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference July 12-16, Dublin, Ireland http://www.sigevo.org/gecco-2011/ This track promotes evolutionary computation and bio-inspired heuristics as instruments able to face engineering problems and scientific questions in different areas that include (but are not limited to): artificial life, robotics, and evolvable hardware. Artificial life studies artificial systems (software, hardware, or chemical) with properties similar to those of living systems. There are two main complementary goals: to better understand living systems and to use this understanding to build artificial systems with properties of living systems, such as adaptability, evolvability, active perception, communication, organization. Evolutionary computation techniques can be particularly useful for a large branch of robotics. The evolution of controllers, morphologies, sensors, and communica...

The proceedings of ICCS2007 will be published soon, I believe that as a volume in the Springer "Understanding Complex Systems" series. With this excuse, I updated this paper with three more laws of information, two new classifications, and further discussions. Any feedback is more than welcome. Gershenson, C. (In Press). The World as Evolving Information. To be published in Proceedings of ICCS 2007. Abstract : This paper discusses the benefits of describing the world as information, especially in the study of the evolution of life and cognition. Traditional studies encounter problems because it is difficult to describe life and cognition in terms of matter and energy, since their laws are valid only at the physical scale. However, if matter and energy, as well as life and cognition, are described in terms of information, evolution can be described consistently as information becoming more complex. The paper presents eight tentative laws of information, valid at multiple ...

I'll be co-chairing together with Giovanni Squillero  the Artificial Life/Robotics/Evolvable Hardware track at the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (GECCO 2011) conference, to be held  in Dublin, Ireland, July 12-16, 2011. More info at the conference website:  http://www.sigevo.org/gecco-2011/

Gershenson, C. (2010). Guiding the Self-organization of Random Boolean Networks. C3 Report 2010.05. Abstract : Random Boolean networks (RBNs) are models of genetic regulatory networks. It is useful to describe RBNs as self-organizing systems to study how changes in the nodes and connections affect the global network dynamics. This article reviews seven different methods for guiding the self-organization of RBNs. In particular, the article is focussed on guiding RBNs towards the critical dynamical regime, which is near the phase transition between the ordered and dynamical phases. The properties and advantages of the critical regime for life, computation, adaptability, evolvability, and robustness are revised. The guidance methods of RBNs can be used for engineering systems with the features of the critical regime, as well as for studying how natural selection evolved living systems, which are also critical. Full text : http://uk.arxiv.org/abs/1005.5733

Gershenson, C. (2009). Book Review: "Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion". Stuart A. Kauffman. Artificial Life 15 ( 4 ):485-487 Excerpts : One of the main goals of this book is to demonstrate the inadequacy of reductionism in contemporary science. It does not negate its explanatory and predictive powers. It notes its limits, exploring several phenomena that are not predictable due to their complex nature. Thus, Kauffman argues, a shift in science is required if we want to understand these complex phenomena. (...) People might disagree with the answers that Kauffman puts forward. However, in my opinion the greatest contribution of this book, as with Platoʼs works, lies in the questions asked. It points out clearly which problems are currently relevant for science and society, even those that people are not aware of. Different tentative or partial solutions can be debated. However, the most difficult part is to start the discussion, and that i...

I just uploaded to the arXiv a first draft of a short essay " What Does Artificial Life Tell Us About Death ?", you can download it at: http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.2824

I made a list of potential research projects I would like to explore with colleagues and/or students. You can find it here .

All phenomena can be described as information, so these laws try to describe general features found across all scales. Law of Information Transformation . Information will potentially be transformed by interacting with other information. Law of Information Propagation . Information propagates as fast as possible. Law of Requisite Complexity . More complex information will require more complex agents to perceive, act on, and propagate it. Law of Information Criticality . Transforming and propagating information will tend to a critical balance between its stability and its variability. Law of Information Organization . Information produces constraints that regulate information production. These tentative laws are generalizations of Darwinian, cybernetic, thermodynamic, and complexity principles. More details and examples in: Gershenson, C. (2007). The World as Evolving Information . In Proceedings of International Conference on Complex Systems ICCS2007 .

This volume consists of short, interview-style contributions by leading figures in the field of complexity, based on five questions. The answers trace their personal experience and expose their views on the definition, aspects, problems and future of complexity. The aim of the book is to bring together the opinions of researchers with different backgrounds on the emerging study of complex systems. In this way, we will see similarities and differences, agreements and debates among the approaches of different schools. Contributors: Peter M. Allen, Philip W. Anderson, W. Brian Arthur, Yaneer Bar-Yam, Eric Bonabeau, Paul Cilliers, Jim Crutchfield, Bruce Edmonds, Nigel Gilbert, Hermann Haken, Francis Heylighen, Bernardo A. Huberman, Stuart A. Kauffman, Seth Lloyd, Gottfried Mayer-Kress, Melanie Mitchell, Edgar Morin, Mark Newman, Grégoire Nicolis, Jordan B. Pollack, Peter Schuster, Ricard V. Solé, Tamás Vicsek, Stephen Wolfram. Get it at Amazon.com Check out more books from the 5 Questions s...

The Sigma Profile: A Formal Tool to Study Organization and its Evolution at Multiple Scales Abstract : The σ profile is presented as a tool to analyze the organization of systems at different scales, and how this organization changes in time. Describing structures at different scales as goal-oriented agents, one can define σ ("satisfaction") as the degree to which the goals of each agent at each scale have been met. σ reflects the organization degree at that scale. The σ profile of a system shows the satisfaction at different scales, with the possibility to study their dependencies and evolution. It can also be used to extend game theoretic models. A general tendency on the evolution of complexity and cooperation naturally follows from the σ profile. Experiments on a virtual ecosystem are used as illustration. [ Full paper ]

A special issue on the "Evolution of Complexity" I co-edited with Tom Lenaerts was just published in Artificial Life 14 (3) : Editorial Introduction Evolution of Complexity Carlos Gershenson , Tom Lenaerts Artificial Life Summer 2008, Vol. 14, No. 3: 241–243. First Page | PDF (55 KB) | PDF Plus (57 KB) Articles Hierarchical Self-Organization in the Finitary Process Soup Olof Görnerup , James P. Crutchfield Artificial Life Summer 2008, Vol. 14, No. 3: 245–254. Abstract | PDF (211 KB) | PDF Plus (217 KB) On the Gradual Evolution of Complexity and the Sudden Emergence of Complex Features Charles Ofria , Wei Huang , Eric Torng Artificial Life Summer 2008, Vol. 14, No. 3: 255–263. Abstract | PDF (180 KB) | PDF Plus (189 KB) The Emergence of Overlapping Scale-free Genetic Architecture in Digital Organisms P. Gerlee , T. Lundh Artificial Life Summer 2008, Vol. 14, No. 3: 265–275. Abstract | PDF (270 KB) | PDF Plus (253 KB) LinMap: Visualizing ...

My friend Clément recently uploaded this preprint: Vidal, C. (2008). " The Ultimate Future of Artificial Life: Towards Artificial Cosmogenesis ". arXiv 0803.1087. Among other things, he explores a possible solution to the heat death problem, i.e. our universe will die as its energy dissipates and will reach thermodynamical equilibrium. This is to create a new universe, not necessarily in simulation, but a brand new physical universe. I agree with some of his ideas, but not with others. E.g. he believes that OUR universe was created by a higher civilization (otherwise why all the cosmological constants are just right for life? this is known as the fine tuning problem), while I believe in natural selection at all scales . But anyway, that is not even in the paper (gladly, since it smells of intelligent design...), but remains from our discussions on the topic. I'll just list the obstacles I find in the creation of a universe from ours: Even when Moore's law has increa...