An Introduction to Artificial Life

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An Introduction to Artificial Life

• The Choice Methodology A New Foundation of
  Structured Machine Life

Christopher A. Tucker
Department of Adaptive Systems Institute of
Information Theory and Automation Academy of
Sciences, Czech Republic tuckerca_at_utia.cas.cz http
//www.paradoxtechnologies.org
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Topics covered in this lecture

• A Hierarchy of Life Forms
• Cognition Hierarchy Mimicked Forms Under
  Consideration
• The Choice Complex
• The Research Question
• Experience Emergence

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Topics covered in this lecture

• Three Theoretical Assumptions
• Research Paradigms
• Experimental Methods
• Choice Hardware Software
• The Queen-Drone Autonomous System

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The Cognition Hierarchy
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The Choice Complex

• If a machine can make a choice and if it did,
  would it be a meaningful one?
• Empirical testing by embedding behavior in
  architecture

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The Research Question

• If a machine can directly experience entropy, is
  the consequence an emergence of consciousness?

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Theoretical Assumption 1

• If a machine can make a choice, it portrays some
  level of consciousness

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Theoretical Assumption 2

• Only if a machine mimics biological life can it
  have access to those kinds of experiences.

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Theoretical Assumption 3

• If a machine has knowledge of its death, it
  fosters emergent behavior.

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In order to satisfy the research question, the
machine

• Choice
• Determines Experience
• Life Conditioning Survival Adaptations
• Entropy
• Mimic
• Form Function

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Choice

• Determines Experience
• Fosters Behavior
• Forecasts Evolution

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Life Conditioning Survival

• Knows that it has life functions within a set
  of statesits operational lifeand also knows the
  inverse.
• The ability to die fostering emergent behavior in
  the form of survival adaptations

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Entropy Death

• Catalyzed by a unique circuit in the machine
  mainframe
• A special circuit attached to a generic robotics
  platform

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Mimic

• The Mimic or Animae (synthetic animal)
• Satisfies the condition of form
• Satisfies the condition of function

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An Artificial Life Prototype
The Experiment
Based on the theoretical principles
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Experimentation

• How are all these ideas put together in a
  reasonable methodology whereby we can test some
  of the notions illustrated?
• How can we generate reproducible results and
  publish our ideas?
• How can we create a methodological framework to
  extend to future versions and generations of
  machines?
• How can we advance the knowledge of science?

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Experimental Conditions
Clause

• The machine should be made to exist on its own
  with as little interference from humans to be as
  a close an approximation to life as possible.
• Two Experimental Conditions

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Experimental Conditions

• There can be no qualitative comparison with human
  intelligence.

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Experimental Conditions

• No superposition of one intelligence system with
  another, all objects in the system remain equal.

How?
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Motif Environment, Intelligence, and Behavior
The properties commonly ascribed to any object
are, in last analysis, names for its behavior.
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The Hardware Paradigm
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Choice Hardware
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The Wireless Power System
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A Prototype Wireless Power Transmitter
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Hardware Layout

• Cooperating with the transmitting array, there is
  a third card that is onboard in the physical
  device

Note Card less conversion circuitry
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Method of Power Delivery

• Two methods under consideration
• CW at radio frequency
• Pulsed power at near-audio frequency

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CW Radio Frequency

• Tests already conducted and proof of prototype
  accomplished (2004)

At a transmission carrier frequency (f0) of 78MHz
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Pulsed Power

• Currently under development for a upcoming
  research grant sponsored by the University of
  Reading

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Choice Hardware Software
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The Entropic Circuit
The Core of the Domain-Specific Robotics Platform
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The Software Paradigm

• Power ChoiceA, B, C, high, mid, low signals
  exchanged between Tx and R'x
• Coupled to 802.11x device
• Power delivered relative to feedback between
  power and load sensors
• Relationship modeled in software diagram

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Queen-Drone XML Layout (Software Controller)
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What are the first experiments?

• Test the existing wireless power system
• Apply software controller (choice)
• Refit a physical robot with the Entropic Circuit
• Deploy and test
• Watch the magic happen!

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Results of Physical Prototype

• Fully autonomous animae
• Adapted to its environment
• Dynamic model of living systems

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Project goals over the next 24 months

• Test the tenets of distribution of energy
  information in a cybernetic paradigm
• Allow a continuous operation of the machine
• A long-term study of behavior
• The Entropic Circuit to test survival in
  artificial forms
• Understanding the feature of choice in living
  systems

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Goals already accomplished since inception of
project

• Software architecture deployed in
  www.o2active.cz
• Commercial application of the choice complex
• Testing of transformation-based logic (Ashby
  1957)
• Includes properties illustrated in this lecture
• Decentralized parallel processing with drone
  tasking

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QuestionsComments
A paper containing the information in this
lecture is slated for publication in early in
2007. In the meantime
http//www.paradoxtechnologies.org
Paradox Technologies
You Dream It, We Build It http//www.paradoxtechno
logies.org
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Thank you
A special thank you to UTIA-AS and Dr. Kárný