An Introduction to Artificial Life

1. An Introduction to Artificial Life The Choice Methodology: A New Foundation of Structured Machine Life Christopher A. Tucker Department of Adaptive Systems Institute of Information Theory and Automation Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic tuckerca@utia.cas.cz http://www.paradoxtechnologies.org

2. Topics covered in this lecture: • A Hierarchy of Life Forms • Cognition Hierarchy – Mimicked Forms Under Consideration • The Choice Complex • The Research Question • Experience & Emergence

3. Topics covered in this lecture: • Three Theoretical Assumptions • Research Paradigms • Experimental Methods • Choice Hardware & Software • The Queen-Drone Autonomous System

4. The Cognition Hierarchy

5. The Choice Complex • If a machine can make a choice and if it did, would it be a meaningful one? • Empirical testing by embedding behavior in architecture

6. The Research Question If a machine can directly experience entropy, is the consequence an emergence of consciousness?

7. Theoretical Assumption #1: If a machine can make a choice, it portrays some level of consciousness

8. Theoretical Assumption #2: Only if a machine mimics biological life can it have access to those kinds of experiences.

9. Theoretical Assumption #3: If a machine has knowledge of its death, it fosters emergent behavior.

10. In order to satisfy the research question, the machine… • Choice • Determines Experience • Life “Conditioning” & Survival Adaptations • Entropy • Mimic • Form & Function

11. Choice • Determines Experience • Fosters Behavior • Forecasts Evolution

12. Life “Conditioning” & Survival • Knows that it has “life” functions within a set of states—its operational life—and also knows the inverse. • The ability to die fostering emergent behavior in the form of survival adaptations

13. Entropy & Death • Catalyzed by a unique circuit in the machine mainframe • A special circuit attached to a generic robotics platform

14. Mimic • The Mimic or Animae (synthetic animal) • Satisfies the condition of form • Satisfies the condition of function

15. An Artificial Life Prototype The Experiment Based on the theoretical principles

16. Experimentation • How are all these ideas put together in a reasonable methodology whereby we can test some of the notions illustrated? • How can we generate reproducible results and publish our ideas? • How can we create a methodological framework to extend to future versions and generations of machines? • How can we advance the knowledge of science?

17. Experimental Conditions The machine should be made to exist on its own with as little interference from humans to be as a close an approximation to life as possible. Two Experimental Conditions Clause:

18. Experimental Conditions There can be no qualitative comparison with human intelligence.

19. Experimental Conditions No superposition of one intelligence system with another, all objects in the system remain equal. How?

20. Motif: Environment, Intelligence, and Behavior “The properties commonly ascribed to any object are, in last analysis, names for its behavior.”

21. The Hardware Paradigm

22. Choice Hardware

23. The Wireless Power System

24. A Prototype Wireless Power Transmitter

25. Hardware Layout • Cooperating with the transmitting array, there is a third card that is onboard in the physical device Note: Card less conversion circuitry

26. Method of Power Delivery • Two methods under consideration: • CW at radio frequency • Pulsed power at near-audio frequency

27. CW – Radio Frequency • Tests already conducted and proof of prototype accomplished (2004): At a transmission carrier frequency (f0) of 78MHz

28. Pulsed Power • Currently under development for a upcoming research grant sponsored by the University of Reading…

29. Choice Hardware & Software

30. The Entropic Circuit The Core of the Domain-Specific Robotics Platform

31. The Software Paradigm • Power Choice—A, B, C, high, mid, low; signals exchanged between Tx and R′x • Coupled to 802.11x device • Power delivered relative to feedback between power and load sensors • Relationship modeled in software diagram…

32. Queen-Drone XML Layout (Software Controller)

33. What are the first experiments? • Test the existing wireless power system • Apply software controller (choice) • Refit a physical robot with the Entropic Circuit • Deploy and test • Watch the magic happen!

34. Results of Physical Prototype • Fully autonomous animae • Adapted to its environment • Dynamic model of living systems

35. Project goals over the next 24 months: • Test the tenets of distribution of energy & information in a cybernetic paradigm • Allow a continuous operation of the machine • A long-term study of behavior • The Entropic Circuit to test survival in artificial forms • Understanding the feature of choice in living systems

36. Goals already accomplished since inception of project Software architecture deployed in www.o2active.cz • Commercial application of the choice complex • Testing of transformation-based logic (Ashby 1957) • Includes properties illustrated in this lecture • Decentralized parallel processing with drone tasking

37. Questions…Comments… A paper containing the information in this lecture is slated for publication in early in 2007. In the meantime… http://www.paradoxtechnologies.org Paradox Technologies You Dream It, We Build It http://www.paradoxtechnologies.org

38. Thank you… A special thank you to UTIA-AS and Dr. Kárný