Artifical Life

1 Unit · Graduate

This course introduces students to the growing field of Artificial Life: the study of ?life as it could be? rather than as it happened to unfold on Earth. We will address fundamental questions about what distinguishes life from matter; the conditions in which complex adaptive systems may arise and how they may be shaped to suit our needs; as well as whether or not there can even be a science of the artificial. Answers to these questions are of interest as a basic intellectual pursuit, but they may also lead to useful computational, mechanical, chemical and biological technologies.