(August 1993)
Levy again reports from the front lines of technology in this exploration of the history and future of the creation of artificial life--as impressive and illuminating a work as his memorable Hackers (1984). Colonies of light on a computer screen compete, learn, reproduce, and die; ``viruses'' committed to self-preservation adapt to new environments, search computer systems for food, replicate themselves, and destroy; tiny ``bugs'' swarm out of a vacuum cleaner to suck up dirt beneath sofas and carpets, then return to deposit the dirt at home base; a mechanical cockroach sees an object in its path, adjusts its legs to crawl over it, and continues in its explorations. The question of which of these creatures, if any, are alive has stimulated a storm of controversy concerning the definition, underlying structure, and necessary characteristics of life itself--primary concerns in the creation of ``alternative life forms,'' an endeavor that has also led to insights into the workings of flocks of birds; the mechanisms behind the evolutionary process; the origin of life; and more. As Levy methodically traces the development of ``A-life'' studies from John von Neumann's interest during the 1940's in the similarities between computers and nature to today's soul-searching by researchers into the spirituality, civil rights, and destructive power of future artificial life forms, he also highlights the other lure of such research: the eventual production of robotic servants; cheap planetary pioneers; more efficient, virtually immortal bodies for our human descendants; and even, some scientists believe, a successor species to our own. Ringing with echoes of Faust, Frankenstein, and the history of the atom bomb, the field of A-life research is fertile ground for Levy's articulate, probing journalism. This thought-provoking inquiry may be the most comprehensive yet on the subject. (review from Kirkus Reviews )
(June 2000)
Silicon Second Nature takes us on an expedition into an extraordinary world where nature is made of bits and bytes and life is born from sequences of zeroes and ones. Artificial Life is the brainchild of scientists who view self-replicating computer programs--such as computer viruses--as new forms of life. Anthropologist Stefan Helmreich's look at the social and simulated worlds of Artificial Life--primarily at the Santa Fe Institute, a well- known center for studies in the sciences of complexity--introduces readers to the people and programs connected with this unusual hybrid of computer science and biology. When biology becomes an information science, when DNA is downloaded into virtual reality, new ways of imagining "life" become possible. Through detailed dissections of the artifacts of Artifical Life, Helmreich explores how these novel visions of life are recombining with the most traditional tales told by Western culture. Because Artificial Life scientists tend to see themselves as masculine gods of their cyberspace creations, as digital Darwins exploring frontiers filled with primitive creatures, their programs reflect prevalent representations of gender, kinship, and race, and repeat origin stories most familiar from mythical and religious narratives. But Artificial Life does not, Helmreich says, simply reproduce old stories in new software. Much like contemporary activities of cloning, cryonics, and transgenics, the practice of simulating and synthesizing life in silico challenges and multiplies the very definition of vitality. Are these models, as some would claim, actually another form of the real thing? Silicon Second Nature takes Artifical Life as a symptom and source of our mutating visions of life itself.
(October 1999)
The book of Bonabeau, Dorigo, and Theraulaz is an excellent example of synergetic work between a physicist, an engineer, and a biologist. The Swarm Intelligence principles are first described and understood through models in natural systems and then translated in optimization algorithms, distributed algorithms for robotic control, and so on. Even if the book does not completely succeed in linking all three disciplines together - computer science, engineering, and biology - under a sound, common formalism, it represents an extremely up to date collection of work carried out worldwide in the field of Swarm Intelligence. I strongly believe in the future of this field and of its applications to problems hard to tackle with classical techniques. This book summarizes in an very equilibrated way the early, promising steps of Swarm Intelligence. Alcherio Martinoli, Caltech