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The hiatus between organism and machine evolution: Contrasting mixed microbial communities with robots
Andrea Roli1, Stuart A Kauffman2
1Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Campus of Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Via Dell'Università 50, Cesena, 47522, Italy; European Centre for Living Technology, Dorsoduro 3911, Venezia, 30123, Italy.
Bio Systems
|September 18, 2022
Summary
Microbial communities evolve through affordances, opportunities species offer each other. Natural evolution expands possibilities openly, unlike artificial evolution limited by algorithms.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Mixed microbial communities are essential in diverse environments like soil and the human gut.
- Community evolution involves complex interspecies dynamics and affordances (opportunities/harms).
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the role of affordances in the evolution of mixed microbial communities.
- To contrast natural microbial evolution with the artificial evolution of programs and robots.
Main Methods:
- Systemic viewpoint of mixed microbial communities.
- Comparative analysis of natural and artificial evolution mechanisms.
- Proposal of an experimental framework.
Main Results:
- Natural evolution extends possibilities openly, while artificial evolution is constrained by its algorithmic framework.
- This distinction holds even for robots evolving in physical environments.
Conclusions:
- Affordances are central to natural evolution's open-ended potential.
- Natural biosphere evolution, exemplified by microbial communities, holds immense potential compared to artificial evolution.
Keywords:
AffordanceArtificial evolutionEvolutionMixed microbial communitiesRobotsUniversal turing machinesMore Related Videos
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