Fluidiom

Recently I've got interested in the idea of artificial life. I don't mean Frankenstein here, or some weird genetic experiments (though those are also pretty cool) but computer programs that try to emulate life. I'm given to believe that one Net-based bookies is offereing odds on an artificial species being assigned a Latin name and made available for study by 2024. Hmm... Unfortunately, I can't do anything about it myself, being unable to program in any language and being too lazy to learn.
Most such projects seek to simulate evolution, notably ref="http://www.darwinathome.org/">Darwin@home, which is still getting going but is linked to one interesting project called Fluidiom. This doesn't try to evolve cyber creatures as such, but instead allows users to create their own little monstrosities - though the interface for doing this is slightly frustrating - and then evolve them. The bodies of these creatures don't change; instead, what is changed is the way they move. Testing the creatures to see how far they can move in a set time allows the program to optimise the movements of the creatures, some of which end up looking quite impressive when moving. Of course, some of them don't. It's entirely web-based, so it's a community project to explore the possibilities for development of these little beasties.
An entertainment-based take on the whole thing is offered by the Creatures series of games, which allow players to hatch, rear and breed creatures called "Norns". This series is begining to look a bit old, but the norns still represent fairly sophisticated artificial beings who think, eat, learn, and even evolve (even though they are quite terminally stupid). There is even a genetics editor which can be downloaded, allowing you to make norns as you see fit (although the lack of any guidelines regarding the workings of their brains means that it is best to leave this organ, if nothing else, alone). The main quibbles that I have with it is that it is possible to create super-norns which live forever, never suffer from disease, and so on. I would have preferred a system where trade-offs had to be made. Also, the chemicals that a norn uses have purely arbitrary purposes, so it is perfectly possible to make norns who, say, derive all their nutrition from smelling something. This means that it isn't really a realistic simulation. For all that, it's still quite fun and has quite a few possibilities. A free, fully functional version of the latest game (which has, unfortunately, quite a small world, and nags you to upgrade to a larger one), Docking Station, is available from here. Extra breeds, objects, toys, species, plants, extensions to the world, etc., can be found on numerous third-party sites.
A more serious, if far simpler, simulation is Darwin Pond, which allows the evolution of "swimmers" in a "pond", and is worth a look, even if it won't keep you interested for all that long.
On the AI front, a program called Open Mind, which users are invited to teach and so make smarter, and another called Cyc, are also worth a look, not least as an indicator of what is (probably) to come.
There are of course many other programs of this sort, and I'd be gald to here of any good ones, but for now I am signing out, and going back to my (non artificial) life.
C.E.M.