cgl@beta.UUCP (C G Langton) (05/09/87)
I would like to solicit contributions for a workshop on: ARTIFICIAL LIFE An Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems organized by Chris Langton Center for Nonlinear Studies Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 September 21-25 1987 Artificial life is the study of artificial systems that exhibit behavior characteristic of natural living systems. This includes computer simulations, biological and chemical experiments, and purely theoretical endeavors. Processes occurring on molecular, cellular, neural, social, and evolutionary scales are subject to investigation. The ultimate goal is to extract the logical form of living systems. Microelectronic technology and genetic engineering will soon give us the capability to create new life forms "in-silico" as well as in-vitro. This capacity will present humanity with some of the most far-reaching technical, theoretical, and ethical challenges it has ever confronted. The time seems appropriate for a gathering of those involved in attempts to simulate or synthesize aspects of living systems. This workshop will provide a forum to address the fundamental problems inherent in such an enterprise. The goals of this first workshop on artificial life are: To bring the field of artificial life into focus. To present current work in artificial life, and to provide an historical perspective. To open a channel of communication between researchers from disciplines whose work is relevant to artificial life. To produce a list of fundamental questions that the field should address. To identify ways in which work on artificial life can contribute to theoretical biology. To organize the literature in the field by compiling an annotated bibliography. -------- (cut here and post above on appropriate bulletin boards) ---------- I have posted a more complete announcement to "news.announce.conferences", which contains further information about the workshop and includes a registration form to fill out and return. In the interest of brevity, I have not included the full posting here. If you are interested in attending or contributing to a workshop on computer - and other - models of life, its constituent processes, or the processes that living systems support, please see the more complete posting in "news.announce.conferences". One of the primary activities at the workshop will be an "artificial 4H show" with prizes for the most life-like models or simulations submitted. You need not attend the workshop to submit an entry to the "4H-show". So, if you have some simulation of a living system, an origin of life model, an evolving population of "bugs", a model of social dynamics, a self-replicating Meccano set, or something else you have been working on - whether as your primary line of research or as a project that you've been doing on the side - dust it off, polish it up, and send it (or a brief description) to the address listed below. I am hoping for a workshop with a large number of hands-on demonstrations and exhibits, combined with a few selected talks and panel discussions, so that we can really exchange ideas on a personal level in a computater-rich environment, allowing us to test new ideas or model parameters on the spot. I want to avoid the typical format of bumper-to-bumper talks with little time for discussion in between. I will provide a number of Sun workstations running 4.2 BSD UNIX, Apple Macintoshes, IBM PC's, and a CAM-6 cellular automaton machine. If your system requires other equipment, let me know the details and I will try to obtain it. More information will be available as the workshop evolves. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Langton email: cgl@lanl.gov Center for Nonlinear Studies phone: 505-665-0049 (office) Los Alamos National Laboratory 505-667-1444 (messages) Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
caasi@sdsu.UUCP (Richard Caasi) (10/14/87)
Does anybody have any information on the Artificial Life Workshop that was held at the Los Alamos National Laboratory recently, such as how to get a copy of the proceedings, etc.? Thanks in advance for any help.
berke@CS.UCLA.EDU (10/15/87)
It was Fabulous! The proceedings are in preparation and I'd guess will not be ready for several months. Pete
cgl@beta.UUCP (C G Langton) (10/15/87)
The Artificial Life workshop was sponsored jointly by the Center for Nonlinear Studies of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Santa Fe Institute, and Apple Computer Inc. The workshop concerned itself largely with attempts to synthesize or simulate living systems. Approaches included computer models, "wetware" experiments, experiments with other media (such as clays), and purely theoretical endeavors. Questions of technique, social and moral implications, criteria for adequate models, and reviews of past work, were among the topics discussed or presented. Contributors included A.G. Cairns-Smith, Richard Dawkins, A.K. Dewdney, Eric Drexler, John Holland, Stuart Kauffman, Richard Laing, Aristid Lindenmayer, Hans Moravec, Howard Pattee, and many others. For a review of the workshop that captures much of its spirit, see the Science section of the Sept. 29 New York Times. I will post my own summary of the workshop to relevant news groups shortly. The proceedings will be published by Addison-Wesley as Volume-4 of the Santa Fe Institute's series: "Studies in Complexity." We expect that the proceedings will come out in the Spring of 1988. If you would like to reserve a copy of the proceedings, you should send your name and address to: USMAIL: Chris Langton Center for Nonlinear Studies MS B258 Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM 87545 EMAIL: cgl@lanl.gov -or- cgl@lanl.arpa (old style address) PHONE: (505) 667-1444 (Ask for Marian Martinez) The proceedings will contain an annotated bibliography of work in the field. Suggestions for works to be included would be greatly appreciated - especially if accompanied by a short (4-5 line) review of each work. Perhaps the most important result of the workshop was the realization that this is, and has been for some time, an ongoing and vital area of research within many different disciplines. The problem has been that researchers within different disciplines have been working largely in isolation from one-another. This isolation notwithstanding, there was a surprising amount of agreement on the nature of the problems and the criteria for adequate models of living systems. Several of the computer demonstrations were met with spontaneous applause as very believable, life-like dynamics emerged from collections of entities obeying simple local rules. Obviously, a public forum for the presentation of work in this area was long overdue. It is equally obvious that we just uncovered the tip of the iceberg. Many issues, questions, and problems were raised that could not be adequately addressed during the workshop. Therefore, we are already planning for the second Artificial Life workshop. It will probably be held in Santa Fe in the spring of 1989. If you would like to be on the mailing list for further announcements, please contact us via one of the paths listed above. Chris Langton
cgl@lanl.gov (C G Langton) (12/22/89)
FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT !!!! ARTIFICIAL LIFE --------------- A workshop on the synthesis of living and evolving artifacts. February 5-9, 1990 Santa Fe, New Mexico Sponsored by ------------ The Center for Nonlinear Studies, LANL and The Santa Fe Institute Self-Organizers --------------- Doyne Farmer Chris Langton Steen Rasmussen Charles Taylor Artificial Life has only recently emerged as a coherent field of scientific research. Its primary methodological approach is to study life and evolution by attempting to actually create living and/or evolving processes within computers, beakers, or other ``artificial'' media. Its primary goal is to abstract the ``logical form'' of life from its material basis - and to construct a truly general theory of living systems, one which will be capable of treating life wherever it is found in the universe and whatever it is made of. ``Artificial'' Life can contribute to the study of ``real'' life by helping to locate life-as-we-know-it within the larger context of life-as-it-could-be, in any of its possible incarnations. This will be the second workshop on the topic of Artificial Life. The workshop will include invited and contributed talks, demonstrations, and discussions on the many scientific, technical, philosophical, and moral issues surrounding the increasing attempts to synthesize life artificially. We will also have an artificial ``4H show'' with prizes for the best artificial life-forms. Specific investigations in the field of Artificial Life include attempts to synthesize, simulate, or otherwise recreate the following: - the emergence of autocatalytic sets within soups of artificial polymers; - the evolution of strings of code using Genetic Algorithms; - self-reproducing bit-strings, clay-crystals, RNA molecules, or LEGO-robots; - the emergence of cooperativity, colonial organization, multi-cellularity, and hierarchical organization; - the embryological processes of growth, development, and differentiation; - the emergence of social behavior in populations of artificial insects; - the emulation of population and ecosystem dynamics; - the implementation of artificial environments, logical universes, or ``virtual realities'' sufficiently rich to support the open-ended evolution of embedded ``organisms''; - cultural evolution, including the origin and evolution of socio- cultural institutions, and the evolution of natural language in its role as a vehicle for cultural inheritance; - the dynamics of self-propagating information structures such as biological and computer viruses; Many of the investigations mentioned above will be reported on or discussed at the workshop. We expect that there will also be plenty of debate on the question of whether or not symbolic processes within computers can be considered ``alive'' in principle, or whether they could be capable of participating in anything like truly open-ended evolution. These debates will probably parallel to a large extent the debates in the AI community on whether processes within computers can considered to be ``intelligent'' or ``conscious.'' We are also encouraging presentations and/or debates on the moral and social consequences of achieving the capability to create living things. The mastery of the technology of life will easily overshadow any of our previous technological accomplishments - even our mastery of the technology of death - in terms of the burden of responsibility which it places on our shoulders. As was the case for the mastery of atomic fission and fusion, the potential abuses are directly proportional to the potential benefits. Once again, we are in a position where our technical understanding of nature is far in advance of our understanding of the potential consequences of mastering or deploying the technology. This is not an enterprise to be undertaken lightly, or to be pursued in the cause of such shortsighted goals as fleeting military advantage. The increasing spread and sophistication of computer viruses is evidence both of the imminence of this new era in the history of life, and of the complexity of the problems and issues that will be facing all of us in the not-too-distant future. We welcome your presence and contribution on any aspect of Artificial Life that you consider worth presenting or discussing with others who are interested in such issues. Whether you are a scientist, an engineer, a philosopher, an artist, or just a concerned citizen, we feel that ALL points of view need to be aired at this early stage in the evolution of Artificial Life. For further information and/or registration materials, contact: Andi Sutherland The Santa Fe Institute 1120 Canyon Rd. Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 505-984-8800 andi@sfi.santafe.edu The deadline for contributions is Dec. 31, 1989. Registrations for the workshop will be accepted right up to the date of the workshop. Some limited financial assistance will be available for the truly needy. The proceedings of the first Artificial Life Workshop, held at the Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1987, are available from Addison Wesley: "Artificial Life: The proceedings of an interdisciplinary workshop on the synthesis and simulation of living systems", edited by Christopher G. Langton, Volume #6 in Addison Wesley's `Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity' series. They can be ordered toll free by calling 800-447-2226. The order codes are: Hardback (about $40) ISBN 0-201-09346-4 Paperback (about $20) ISBN 0-201-09356-1