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Chris Langton

Cellular Automata

Chris Langton is a research and computer scientist. His research interests include artificial life, complex adaptive systems, distributed dynamical systems, multi-agent systems, simulation technology, and the role of information in physics.

Langton is considered to be one of the founders of the field of artificial life, which he coined the term for. Artificial life is the study where researchers examine systems related to life, its processes, and its evolution, through the use of simulations with computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. Properties these simulations exhibit include reproduction, sexuality, swarming, and co-evolution.

Langton also worked on emergent behaviors found in complex adaptive systems, using cellular automata. Langton's "Ant Colonies" is a two dimensional machine that begins with a very simple set of rules with complex emergent behavior. It runs on a square lattice of black and white cells. Langton demonstrated that the same model could exhibit different modes of behavior, including simplicity, chaos, and emergent order. Simplicity is seen during the first one hundred moves and is often symmetrical. Chaos is seen later when irregular patterns appear. Emergent order happens when the recurring pattern repeats indefinitely

By using this link you can play with the ant colony: http://langtons.atspace.com/

Langton was interested in the boundary conditions where a system changes from one state to another, and believed that this boundary, between order and chaos, is where information flow is most effective. Because of this, he believed that life might, in some way, behave like a cellular automata, with rules naturally advanced a system towards 'the edge of chaos'  He states, “Evolution tends to push systems towards the edge of chaos, where complex, interesting behaviors such as life can occur.”

Text adapted from a contribution by Megan Van Dalen, Iowa State University, 2021

 

Cite this page:

Wohl, S. (2022, 24 May). Chris Langton. Retrieved from https://kapalicarsi.wittmeyer.io/definition/chris-langton

Chris Langton was updated May 24th, 2022.

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Artificial Life

Artificial life as a tool for biological inquiry; Cooperation and community structure in artificial ecosystems; Extended molecular evolutionary biology: artificial life bridging the gap between chemistry and biology; Visual models of morphogenesis; The artificial life roots of artificial intelligence; Toward synthesizing artificial neural networks that exhibit cooperative intelligence behavior

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There would be some thought experiments here.

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