Artificial Life

Artificial life (often abbreviated ALife or A-Life) is a field of study and an associated art form which examine systems related to life, its processes, and its evolution through simulations using computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. The discipline was named by Christopher Langton, an American computer scientist, in 1986. There are three main kinds of alife, named for their approaches: soft, from software; hard, from hardware; and wet, from biochemistry. Artificial life imitates traditional biology by trying to recreate some aspects of biological phenomena. The term "artificial intelligence" is often used to specifically refer to soft alife.

Read more about Artificial Life:  Overview, Philosophy, Hardware-based - "hard", Biochemical-based - "wet", Related Subjects, Criticism

Famous quotes containing the words artificial and/or life:

    “Before I finally went into winter quarters in November, I used to resort to the north- east side of Walden, which the sun, reflected from the pitch pine woods and the stony shore, made the fireside of the pond; it is so much pleasanter and wholesomer to be warmed by the sun while you can be, than by an artificial fire. I thus warmed myself by the still glowing embers which the summer, like a departed hunter, had left.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “The further through life I drift
    The more obvious it becomes that I am lacking in thrift.”
    —Ogden Nash (1902–1971)