Artificial life: The coming evolution
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA) Santa Fe Inst., NM (USA)
- Shute, Mihaly, and Weinberger, Santa Fe, NM (USA)
Within fifty to a hundred years a new class of organisms is likely to emerge. These organisms will be artificial in the sense that they will originally be designed by humans. However, they will reproduce, and will evolve into something other than their initial form; they will be alive'' under any reasonable definition of the word. These organisms will evolve in a fundamentally different manner than contemporary biological organisms, since their reproduction will be under at least partial conscious control, giving it a Lamarckian component. The pace of evolutionary change consequently will be extremely rapid. The advent of artificial life will be the most significant historical event since the emergence of human beings. The impact on humanity and the biosphere could be enormous, larger than the industrial revolution, nuclear weapons, or environmental pollution. We must take steps now to shape the emergence of artificial organisms; they have potential to be either the ugliest terrestrial disaster, or the most beautiful creation of humanity. 22 refs., 3 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/MA
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 7043104
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-90-378; CONF-891131-; ON: DE90008860
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Indirect liquefaction contractors' review meeting, Pittsburgh, PA (USA), 13-15 Nov 1989
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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