The emergent computational potential of evolving artificial living systems

Abstract

The computational potential of articial living systems can be studied without knowing the algorithms that govern their behavior. Modeling single organisms by means of so- called cognitive transducers, we will estimate the computational power of AL systems by viewing them as conglomerates of such organisms. We describe a scenario in which an artificial living (AL) system is involved in a potentially infinite, unpredictable interaction with an active or passive environment, to which it can react by learning and adjusting its behaviour. By making use of sequences of cognitive transducers one can also model the evolution of AL systems caused by `architectural' changes. Among the examples are `communities of agents', i.e. by communities of mobile, interactive cognitive transducers. Most AL systems show the emergence of a computational power that is not present at the level of the individual organisms. Indeed, in all but trivial cases the resulting systems possess a super-Turing computing power. This means that the systems cannot be simulated by traditional computational models like Turing machines and may in principle solve non- computable tasks. The results are derived using non-uniform complexity theory.