Overview

Putting evolution by natural selection into a computer is surprisingly easy to do and a good way to start thinking about how artificial systems can demonstrate the dynamics of living systems. You’ll start by learning about one approach to this technique, genetic algorithms, also referred to as evolutionary algorithms and evolutionary computation.

Basic Learning Objectives

Before class you should be able to:

  • List the inputs and steps of a genetic algorithm
  • Provide one example of how genetic algorithms have been used in the real world

Advanced Learning Objectives

After class, you should be able to:

  • Write a genetic algorithm program to solve a simple problem

Reading

  • Complexity Ch 9 (you might not need to read the entire example)

Checks

Answer the following questions on Moodle:

  • What are the inputs and steps of a genetic algorithm?
  • What is one example of how a genetic algorithm has been used in the real world?