Artificial Life, Open-Ended Evolution, and the Origins of Biological Complexity

Explore the evolution of complex traits and behaviors in digital organisms during this one-hour lecture from the Santa Fe Institute. Delve into research examining how digital populations evolve new levels of complexity, addressing issues of novelty, diversity, ecological effects, and major evolutionary transitions. Investigate how specific environmental conditions affect the accumulation of information used to encode complex traits. Learn about efforts to build artificial life systems as rich and open-ended as the natural world. Examine comparisons to experimental evolution, Boolean logic treatment functions, and methods for tracking evolution in digital worlds. Discover insights into Darwin's recognized challenges to evolutionary theory and how modern research addresses them. Consider the impact of limited resource supply on evolutionary processes. Gain a deeper understanding of artificial life, open-ended evolution, and the origins of biological complexity through this comprehensive exploration.