Evolutionary Self-Replication as a Mechanism for Producing Artificial Intelligence

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether self-replication combined with natural selection can lead to the emergence of intelligent behavior in machines, without explicit rewards or objectives, across Atari and robotic environments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach where intelligence emerges solely through survival and natural selection in self-replicating systems, without predefined goals.

Findings

Self-replication with natural selection produces complex behaviors.

Emergent behaviors demonstrate creativity and problem-solving.

Intelligence arises without reward-based learning.

Abstract

Can reproduction alone in the context of survival produce intelligence in our machines? In this work, self-replication is explored as a mechanism for the emergence of intelligent behavior in modern learning environments. By focusing purely on survival, while undergoing natural selection, evolved organisms are shown to produce meaningful, complex, and intelligent behavior, demonstrating creative solutions to challenging problems without any notion of reward or objectives. Atari and robotic learning environments are re-defined in terms of natural selection, and the behavior which emerged in self-replicating organisms during these experiments is described in detail.