I was linked here from /r/shittyprogramming which seems rather unfair, but what you say makes no sense to someone who has never heard of this type of research before.

What you are talking about (in a half-assed way) is called genetic programming.. Koza's book is definitive and mind-blowing. Genetic Programming is sometimes related to Artificial Life.

I have dabbled in it, but a good book to read on the matter is a new kind of science, by wolfram. He makes some arrogant claims and makes out he invented the field, but he does have some rather good theories. I agree with him that some sort of cellular automation with a genetic component is the best way to start off the process.

A fascinating anecdote from the book is how the rate of chaotic change to create a stable cellular automata system was stumbled on in Conway's Game of Life. A slight adjustment to the rules one way led to an almost static system. The other way led to the board being filled up. There is a level of "just right" that leads to what some people think of "life" in the game of life.

You are correct that you do not need a scaled version of the current universe to eventually achieve AI, as a simplified model with evolution will do. It's a massive book with some rather complicated ideas, but if you are truly interested it is worth pursuing.

If you are just superficially interested in the field, a great sci fi novel set about these ideas is called Permutation City. Another book, Artificial Life by Steven Levy is a great history of alife so far.

Welcome to the field!

u/go-hstfacekilla · 1 point r/Futurology

https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Life-Frontier-Computers-Biology/dp/0679743898

u/Figs · 1 point r/math

I seem to recall a book I read a few years back about the Millennium Problems, but I don't remember the title, unfortunately. If you like something a little more pop-CS based, there's the artificial life book by Steven Levy. I remember seeing "e, Story of a Number" (or something like that); I'd like to read it, but haven't yet, so I'm not sure if it's good or not.

u/azakhary · 0 points r/Futurology

> https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Life-Frontier-Computers-Biology/dp/0679743898

This is so cool, thanks a bunch! I am going to have a long flight soon, seems like a great read! :)))

Related categories:

Reddit mentions of ARTIFICIAL LIFE

idea-bulb Interested in what Redditors like? Check out our Shuffle feature

Found 4 comments on ARTIFICIAL LIFE:

Interested in what Redditors like? Check out our Shuffle feature