A Genetic Algorithm Discovers Particle-Based Computation in Cellular Automata

How does evolution produce sophisticated emergent computation in systems composed of simple components limited to local interactions? To model such a process, we used a genetic algorithm (GA) to evolve cellular automata to perform a computational task requiring globally-coordinated information processing. On most runs a class of relatively unsophisticated strategies was evolved, but on a subset of runs a number of quite sophisticated strategies was discovered. We analyze the emergent logic underlying these strategies in terms of information processing performed by “particles” in space-time, and we describe in detail the generational progression of the GA evolution of these strategies. Our analysis is a preliminary step in understanding the general mechanisms by which sophisticated emergent computational capabilities can be automatically produced in decentralized multiprocessor systems.