How Will We Store What We Learn? Chapter 6 Urban and Sustainable Agriculture Group

The Big Picture: A New Computer Problem: "Nature's computers don't work the way ours do. To think that they do is very bad for society -- it makes us use digital computers for tasks we ought to be asking our brains to do -- tasks to which digital computers are not suited." Solution: Design computer processors that are powerful and fashioned off natures design with the ability to evolve. – Idea is that when we challenge the computer with difficult problem solving, it will solve the problem and in the process become more efficient. Then, when conditions change, it will evolve.

The Problem with Computers Current computers are very different than our brains For example… – Computers cannot “learn to learn” and cannot deal with unpredictability. – Computers cannot interact with the complex environment. – Brains compute in massive parallels while computers use linear processing. – Brains are equipped to evolve by using side effects. Computers must freeze out all side effects.

Solutions In Practice: Jigsaw Computing Michael Conrad created EVOLVE- the first attempt at artificial life. He wants to create artificial life mimicking biological systems. Michael Conrad is now working on a new form of computing inspired by the lock-and-key interactions of protein and enzyme. This is called Jigsaw Computing. Jigsaw Computing – Uses shape based principles and biosensors to “feel” its way to a solution – Hardware and software will be bred through artificial selection – Will resemble an ecosystem made up of different “members” challenging each to do work seamlessly together and up the ante of performance. – Each time enzymes make an error they will break apart to try new configurations. Similar to how bio systems adapt to finding a steady state.