Related papers: The Algorithmic Origins of Life
Biological and artificial neural systems are composed of many local processors, and their capabilities depend upon the transfer function that relates each local processor's outputs to its inputs. This paper uses a recent advance in the…
Digital life, a form of life generated by computer programs or artificial intelligence systems, it possesses self-awareness, thinking abilities, emotions, and subjective consciousness. Achieving it involves complex neural networks,…
Algorithmic idealism represents a transformative approach to understanding reality, emphasizing the informational structure of self-states and their algorithmic transitions over traditional notions of an external, objective universe. Rooted…
Quantum superposition, a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, enables systems to exist in multiple states simultaneously, giving rise to probabilistic outcomes. In quantum information science, conditional entropy has become a key metric for…
The correlations that can be observed between a set of variables depend on the causal structure underpinning them. Causal structures can be modeled using directed acyclic graphs, where nodes represent variables and edges denote functional…
One of the remarkable feats of intelligent life is that it restructures the world it lives in for its own benefit. This extended abstract outlines how the information-theoretic principle of empowerment, as an intrinsic motivation, can be…
Complex systems are often characterized by the interplay of multiple interconnected dynamical processes operating across a range of temporal scales. This phenomenon is widespread in both biological and artificial scenarios, making it…
Causality plays a central role in understanding interactions between variables in complex systems. These systems often exhibit state-dependent causal relationships, where both the strength and direction of causality vary with the value of…
The theory of interaction-based evolution argues that, at the most basic level of analysis, there is a third alternative for how adaptive evolution works besides a) accidental mutation and natural selection and b) Lamarckism, namely, c)…
This study introduces a novel theoretical framework, the Stacked Autoencoder Evolution Hypothesis, which proposes that biological evolutionary systems operate through multi-layered self-encoding and decoding processes, analogous to stacked…
Information transfer between coupled stochastic dynamics, measured by transfer entropy and information flow, is suggested as a physical process underlying the causal relation of systems. While information transfer analysis has booming…
At any moment in time, evolution is faced with a formidable challenge: refining the already highly optimised design of biological species, a feat accomplished through all preceding generations. In such a scenario, the impact of random…
This work outlines the novel application of the empirical analysis of causation, presented by Kutach, to the study of information theory and its role in physics. The central thesis of this paper is that causation and information are…
Causal discovery is at the core of human cognition. It enables us to reason about the environment and make counterfactual predictions about unseen scenarios that can vastly differ from our previous experiences. We consider the task of…
Nearly all cell models explicitly or implicitly deal with the biophysical constraints that must be respected for life to persist. Despite this, there is almost no systematicity in how these constraints are implemented, and we lack a…
In the ecological approach to perception and action, information that specifies affordances is available in the energy arrays surrounding organisms, and this information is detected by organisms in order to perceptually guide their actions.…
A defining property of complex systems is that they have multiscale structure. How does this multiscale structure come about? We argue that within systems there emerges a hierarchy of scales that contribute to a system's causal workings. An…
This note presents a minimal approach to the origin of life, following standard ideas. We pay special attention to the point of view of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, and in particular to detailed balance. As a consequence we…
The inheritance of characteristics induced by the environment has often been opposed to the theory of evolution by natural selection. Yet, while evolution by natural selection requires new heritable traits to be produced and transmitted, it…
Understanding the thermodynamic function of life may shed light on its origin. Life, as are all irreversible processes, is contingent on entropy production. Entropy production is a measure of the rate of the tendency of Nature to explore…