Artificial creation is a field of research that studies the primary synthesis of complex lifelike structures from primordial lifeless origins. The field bears some similarity to

artificial life Artificial life (often abbreviated ALife or A-Life) is a field of study wherein researchers examine systems related to natural life, its processes, and its evolution, through the use of simulations with computer models, robotics, and biochemist ...

, but unlike artificial life, artificial creation focuses on the primary emergence of complex structures and processes of

abiogenesis In biology, abiogenesis (from a- 'not' + Greek bios 'life' + genesis 'origin') or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothe ...

. Artificial creation does not rely exclusively on the application of

evolutionary computation In computer science, evolutionary computation is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the subfield of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms. In technical terms, ...

and

genetic algorithms In computer science and operations research, a genetic algorithm (GA) is a metaheuristic inspired by the process of natural selection that belongs to the larger class of evolutionary algorithms (EA). Genetic algorithms are commonly used to gene ...

to optimize artificial creatures or grow synthetic life forms. Artificial creation instead studies systems of rules of interaction, initial conditions and primordial building blocks that can generate complex lifelike structures, based exclusively on repeated application of rules of interaction. An essential difference that distinguishes artificial creation from other related fields is that no explicit

fitness function {{no footnotes, date=May 2015 A fitness function is a particular type of objective function that is used to summarise, as a single figure of merit, how close a given design solution is to achieving the set aims. Fitness functions are used in genet ...

is used to select for fit structures. Structures exist based only on their ability to persist as entities that do not violate the system's rules of interaction. Artificial creation studies the way in which complex

emergent properties In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors that emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole. Emergen ...

can arise to form a

self-organizing system Self-organization, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spontaneous when suffici ...

Origins

Although concepts and elements of artificial creation are represented to some degree in many areas, the field itself is less than a decade old. There are models of self-organizing systems that produce emergent properties in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

, mathematics,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

and other fields. Artificial creation differs from these in that it focuses on underlying properties of systems that can generate the endless environmentally interactive complexity of living systems. One of the primary impetuses for the exploration of artificial creation comes from the realization in the

and

evolutionary computing In computer science, evolutionary computation is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the subfield of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms. In technical terms, they ...

fields that some basic assumptions common in these fields represent subtle mischaracterizations of natural

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. These fall into two general classes: 1) there are fundamental problems with the use of

fitness functions {{no footnotes, date=May 2015 A fitness function is a particular type of objective function that is used to summarise, as a single figure of merit, how close a given design solution is to achieving the set aims. Fitness functions are used in genetic ...

for the primary synthesis of complex systems, and 2) the process of

self-replication Self-replication is any behavior of a dynamical system that yields construction of an identical or similar copy of itself. Biological cells, given suitable environments, reproduce by cell division. During cell division, DNA is replicated and c ...

used in almost all artificial life research is not a fundamental property of

self-organizing systems Self-organization, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spontaneous when suffic ...

Issues

The concept of a

(or

objective function In mathematical optimization and decision theory, a loss function or cost function (sometimes also called an error function) is a function that maps an event or values of one or more variables onto a real number intuitively representing some "cos ...

) is central to

systems. The

is used to drive a given

artificial evolution In computational intelligence (CI), an evolutionary algorithm (EA) is a subset of evolutionary computation, a generic population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm. An EA uses mechanisms inspired by biological evolution, such as reproduct ...

process to create synthetic organisms capable of performing a given task. However,

, even aggregate high-level ones, drive evolving systems to particular solutions and place a ceiling on innovation and complexity. Natural

does not drive organisms toward particular solutions to problems. There is no motive force for

in our universe beyond that of adherence to physical law. This is a subtle point: when modern organisms are viewed in a local context it does appear that they are evolving to optimize particular abilities that will help them survive. This is not the case in a global sense. In fact, the pressure to optimize a given ability comes from the current state of a given population. The only fundamental selective pressure is the ability of structures to adhere to physical law.

Stochastic Stochastic (, ) refers to the property of being well described by a random probability distribution. Although stochasticity and randomness are distinct in that the former refers to a modeling approach and the latter refers to phenomena themselve ...

events initiated the appearance of features that we might view as adaptive traits, and it is the local evolution of these traits that much of evolutionary theory is based upon. The universe maintains its own consistency. However, when trying to model the universe, or create artificial organisms by mimicking natural evolution, the application of

that select for particular abilities force an unnatural bias onto the evolving organisms. In

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...

, it is well understood that all properties of organisms and

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

are

of fundamental physical law. The conceptual problems related to generations, offspring and populations that occur in

systems stem from the fact that self-replication is itself an innovation of life on Earth. The dynamics observed in modern self-replicating life forms on Earth are extremely complex

of the organisms themselves, not driving forces imposed by an external controlling entity.

References

* * {{cite web , url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1840785.htm , title=Uni to vote on church's demand for stem cell research ban , accessdate=2007-07-19 , format=html , work=ABC News , date=2007-02-05 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403044709/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1840785.htm , archive-date=2007-04-03 , url-status=dead

Conferences

* Alife: http://alife.org/conferences * GECCO: http://www.sigevo.org/gecco-2016/ Artificial life Simulation software Emergence