Creatures: an exercise in creation

Abstract

Why do we create neural networks that have no chemistry? Why simulate genetics without a digestive system? There is no such thing as half an organism, yet most attempts to generate intelligent or life-like agents are based essentially on a single mechanism. Granted, a few people are working on evolvable neural networks, but the genetics is seen as a means to an end, rather than a part of an integrated, heterogeneous system. Neural networks themselves are generally homogeneous entities, too-one kind of neuron, interconnected in one or at most a few different ways and performing a single task. Yet, we know that our brains are not like that at all: they are divided into regions that perform many different tasks and contain populations of very different cells. What is more, artificial neural networks generally employ only direct synaptic connections for their signal paths, despite our awareness that real brains are swimming in neurotransmitters that have diffuse and plural functions. Taking a holistic approach and attempting to create such a "whole" organism might sound like a brave or even foolhardy task. However, in this article, I explore the possibilities and see what could be done.