A computer science team at The University of Texas at Austin has found that robots evolve more quickly and efficiently after a virtual mass extinction modeled after real-life disasters such as the one that killed off the dinosaurs. Beyond its implications for artificial intelligence, the research supports the idea that mass extinctions actually speed up evolution by unleashing new creativity in adaptations.
Computer scientists Risto Miikkulainen and Joel Lehman co-authored the study published today in the journal PLOS One, which describes how simulations of mass extinctions promote novel features and abilities in surviving lineages.
"Focused destruction can lead to surprising outcomes," said Miikkulainen, a professor of computer science at UT Austin. "Sometimes you have to develop something that seems objectively worse in order to develop the tools you need to get better."
The original article from Science Daily.
The original source from The University of Texas.
The abstract of the study published in PLOS One.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 13 2015, @04:32PM
Indeed, it's much better to live in a low-growth developed economy than in a fast-growing underdeveloped one.
Until the low-growth developed economy trades places with the latter and becomes the low-growth underdeveloped economy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2015, @04:37PM
If that happens, either the low-growth developed economy was not really developed, but just less underdeveloped, or the developed economy stagnated not only at growth, but also at innovation, and therefore was out-innovated by the growing one (in that case, the developed economy is now actually shrinking, as the newcomer is eating its lunch).
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 14 2015, @12:20AM
or the developed economy stagnated not only at growth, but also at innovation,
This. Industry has been fleeing the developed world for a half century, productive scientific research has devolved into welfare for eggheads, and short term thinking has become amply rewarded. There are consequences to that.