Life as it could be: Alife attempts to simulate evolution

Abstract

Artificial life (Alife) explores natural life by attempting to create biological phenomena in computers and other nonliving media. Alife also strives to introduce a broader, more universal understanding of life (accessible to new kinds of manipulation and testing), than that defined by traditional biology. Looked at in this way, Alife represents the flip side of the empirical-analytic approach of most laboratory biologists, who start with a whole organism, deconstruct it into its component parts (for example organs, tissues, cells, genes, molecules, and so on), and then try to derive its fundamental principles. Most biologists would prefer to be able to simply reverse engineer life and synthesize real organisms, cookbook style, from their basic ingredients, but so far, this feat has eluded them. It is concluded that however it is viewed, Alife has not only spawned some fascinating varieties of digital life, but also an exciting new field of research. Moreover, Alife has engendered a rich and provocative body of thought, whether you're for or against it, with the potential for generating an endless number of new ideas.