Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life (Princeton Studies in Complexity Book 14)

by John H. Miller

Harnessing coevolution is a powerful way to adapt systems. Evolution needs to exploit opportunities inherent in the underlying structure of the world. Unfortunately, for most problems, the space of good structures is much smaller than the space of bad ones. In such a world, most of the feedback takes the form of “bad idea” rather than “good idea,” and thus it is difficult for an evolutionary system to gain enough purchase to make rapid progress. Coevolution, however, lowers the fitness bar initially and, in so doing, allows systems to evolve more rapidly toward good structures. Over time, as the coevolving structures get better, the bar is raised and more selective pressure is exerted in the system. Coevolution allows the evolving entities to “challenge” each other progressively. By slowly, and automatically, ramping up the challenges, rapid evolutionary progress becomes possible.