Perspectives for Strong Artificial Life

TL;DR

This paper discusses the conceptual and theoretical challenges in artificial life, highlighting the need for a paradigm shift to overcome deadlocks in understanding and creating strong artificial life.

Contribution

It analyzes the twin deadlocks of strong artificial life and suggests that future developments may lead to a paradigm shift in the field.

Findings

Artificial life realizations are advancing rapidly.

There is a growing gap between theory and practical realizations.

A paradigm shift may be necessary to resolve fundamental deadlocks.

Abstract

This text introduces the twin deadlocks of strong artificial life. Conceptualization of life is a deadlock both because of the existence of a continuum between the inert and the living, and because we only know one instance of life. Computationalism is a second deadlock since it remains a matter of faith. Nevertheless, artificial life realizations quickly progress and recent constructions embed an always growing set of the intuitive properties of life. This growing gap between theory and realizations should sooner or later crystallize in some kind of paradigm shift and then give clues to break the twin deadlocks.