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Self-Organizing Circuit Reinvents Radio
PortWineBoy writes "An evolutionary computer program that controls circuits connected to transistors is told to 'breed' an oscillator. Instead, it breeds a radio receiver which picks up oscillation produced by a nearby computer to achieve the desired result. It seems interesting to me but does it have any implications or applications? Any thoughts on how something like this could be used elsewhere?"
Another
experiment a few years ago produced a circuit that could recognize the
difference between a 'stop' and 'go', voice commands. Adrian Thompson,
who created the circuit, said- "I don't have the faintest idea how it works"
i wonder how the game theorists would explain that?
Winning?
Around here, we call it interference.
load "linux",8,1
Like, what if a evolved chip only works properly at a range of 35-40 C ? Or more easly affected on electroic noise, or needs electronic noise? Like the circuit in this article, if there was no osculation nearby, it probaly wouldn't work would it?
This is the main thing to understand from these experiments - yes, they'd probably fail when removed from that environment, but then conventionally evolved life, which has adapted in the same way to use what's around it (Humans for example, in a most basic sense, use oxygen, certain foods, night/day to stay functioning and sane) are the same. Stick us in a different atmosphere, feed us nothing but one nutrient (say, caffeine) and keep it permanent nighttime, and we turn into coders.
a grrl & her quadra
Sadly, the evolving circuit was forced into bankruptcy court soon after the RIAA filed new CARP legislation through their paid-congressman of the week in which the circuit was made to pay $.07 per radio channel picked up per listening receiver.
Witnesses say the circuit was last seen on the corner of 7th and Main Street evolving its pan-handling skills.
So, after your computer gives you the answer you gotta build an even bigger one that determines the question. Reminds me of some book I read once :-)
Freevo - Linux Multimedia Jukebox
"Go on boy, go fetch the stick. "
"Dude, what is your robot dog doing?"
"I don't know. He isn't fetching the fucking stick. I guess I better dig up that reciept and get a new one."
"Isn't this that new model with the breeding algorithm?"
"Ah, so that's what he's doing with the stick!"
>
So you own 100,000 devices, and one of them has a non-fixed purpose and design?
Laugh, it's funny.
It is extremely difficult, in fact, to breed populations whose solutions *do* make sense. They find "organic", bizarre, complicated, twisted, fragile solutions much more often than something simple and straight-forward.
Sounds just like software.
Yeah, God told the self-organizing circuit to create "intelligence" and instead it came up with us.
A real visionary would be able to see that others were going to call him that. ;)
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