cgl@lanl.gov (C G Langton) (12/21/89)
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