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The focus on structures brings along a need to investigate the development of these structures, which is difficult because:
· An objective examination is not possible since examining the structure influences the structure in some manner, maybe even kills it. · The lifetime of the organism is often measured in years
These two difficulties would be circumvented if an artificial organism could be made and investigated using a computer. However, attempts to create an artificial organisms has so far not shown the necessary similarity to other real organisms in order to be useful. As far as we know, Colline is the first artificial organism to show enough similarity in behaviour to a real organism, in order for new insights to be achieved. By using a computer, Colline simulates an organism, which can be seen to grow, develop and possibly die, like any other organism. It can provide answers in a very concrete manner (e.g. by using computer graphics) to questions like: What is a structure? When does it exist? How and why does a structure crystallize? What does an organism with inner tensions look like, compared to one without? What happens when a new complex of structures “take over” an existing complex of structures? How does an organism learn?
By answering these questions and more, Colline can help investigate and refine these key concepts. Colline descriptionColline is a computer simulation of how small “insects”, referred to as agents, behave in a limited space, a matrix. The agents have seven kinds of behaviour, they can:
· move (randomly) in the matrix · observe other agents · buy a message using fitness points · process a message · sell their processed message and processing state to another agent · reproduce when fitness is high · die when fitness is low or maximum age is reached
A message is simply an information string (bit string). How an agent act is determined by its DNA code, which is (more or less) passed on to its offspring.
Three types of information processing occurs in the system: 1. Small messages are concatenated to a larger message 2. A message is scanned for a certain pattern and deleted if found (“eaten”) 3. Two processing states from other agents are compared
which gives rise to three types of agents: Collectors, inpoders and effectors. The description is summarized in the following figure: |
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abstract: In this paper the design and functioning of an artificial organism (Colline) made on a computer is described. Besides giving a perspective on artificial life and intelligence, Colline can be used to investigate the development of structures. A learning principle is suggested which relates the development of any organism to the concept of ‘entropy’ and ‘exformation’. The learning principle suggested, makes it possible to interlink several scientific fields and aspects of life, thereby facilitating cross disciplinary communication. |
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March 31st, 2006 Colline - How learning progress in an artificial organism |
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Figure 1: Description of the three types of agents
In short the collectors can be said to collect the information, the inpoders process the information and the effectors delivers the system response. A possible task for the system could be to recognize whether the input is a flower or not: |
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Figure 2: The functionality of Colline. The flow of messages (data) in the system goes from left to right, whereas the fitness points (energy) paid for the messages, flows from right to left. The initial hypothesis behind the system is that there exist some colony of agents interacting in a certain way that will be able to solve the task. So how is this combination of agents found? … and maybe more interesting: Is there a general method for finding this combination that can also be applied to other learning organisations or organisms?
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Within the past 20 years or so, several new scientific fields have emerged: Organization theory, autopoietic systems, self-organizing systems, semiotics, cybernetics and more.
A common denominator for the fields is that they deal with structures. Structures that communicate, develop and have a certain complexity. The human mind, a company and a culture can all be seen as a complex of structures that grow, develop and die. The structures constitute an organism in its broadest sense. |
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Chaos and order are not enemies, only opposites. |
