Case Study of Novelty, Complexity, and Adaptation in a Multicellular System

TL;DR

This paper investigates how novelty, complexity, and adaptation co-evolve in digital multicellular systems, revealing a loose relationship among these phenomena through a detailed case study.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the interaction between novelty, complexity, and adaptation in digital multicellularity evolution.

Findings

Ten distinct multicellular morphologies identified

Asymmetrical growth and life stages observed

Loosely coupled relationship among novelty, complexity, and adaptation

Abstract

Continuing generation of novelty, complexity, and adaptation are well-established as core aspects of open-ended evolution. However, it has yet to be firmly established to what extent these phenomena are coupled and by what means they interact. In this work, we track the co-evolution of novelty, complexity, and adaptation in a case study from the DISHTINY simulation system, which is designed to study the evolution of digital multicellularity. In this case study, we describe ten qualitatively distinct multicellular morphologies, several of which exhibit asymmetrical growth and distinct life stages. We contextualize the evolutionary history of these morphologies with measurements of complexity and adaptation. Our case study suggests a loose -- sometimes divergent -- relationship can exist among novelty, complexity, and adaptation.