The Importance of Open-Endedness (for the Sake of Open-Endedness)

TL;DR

This paper critiques a computational model claiming to meet open-ended evolution criteria, emphasizing the importance of studying open-endedness for its own sake and advocating for clear definitions of complexity and diversity.

Contribution

It applies a conceptual framework to analyze a recent model, highlighting the significance of open-endedness as a research goal independent of specific models.

Findings

The model claims to satisfy all open-endedness requirements.

The importance of studying open-endedness for its own sake is emphasized.

The paper demonstrates limitations of the model using the framework.

Abstract

A paper in the recent Artificial Life journal special issue on open-ended evolution (OEE) presents a simple evolving computational system that, it is claimed, satisfies all proposed requirements for OEE (Hintze, 2019). Analysis and discussion of the system are used to support the further claims that complexity and diversity are the crucial features of open-endedness, and that we should concentrate on providing proper definitions for those terms rather than engaging in "the quest for open-endedness for the sake of open-endedness" (Hintze, 2019, p. 205). While I wholeheartedly support the pursuit of precise definitions of complexity and diversity in relation to OEE research, I emphatically reject the suggestion that OEE is not a worthy research topic in its own right. In the same issue of the journal, I presented a "high-level conceptual framework to help orient the discussion and implementation of open-endedness in evolutionary systems" (Taylor, 2019). In the current brief contribution I apply my framework to Hinzte's model to understand its limitations. In so doing, I demonstrate the importance of studying open-endedness for the sake of open-endedness.