Emergent Behaviors in Artificial Life with Genetic Algorithms

Abstract

Artificial life is concerned with the understanding of various aspects of biological systems by artificially recreating them. An emergent property of any system is a simple or complex behavior that is beyond the original programming of that system; the whole is more than the sum of its parts. In this project, an artificial system was created to study emergence and other interesting questions associated with artificial life research. Results from various experiments were positive, demonstrating behaviors more suited to given environments would emerge in those environments. Artificial life research has a promising future in the understanding of evolution and intelligence in biological life. Where traditional artificial intelligence has failed, perhaps artificial life will eventually be the key to unlock the understanding of our own intelligence.