Tinkering withevolution: Ecological implications of modular software networks
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the 1960s, Dr.Lawrence J. Fogel introduced what would come to be known as evolutionary programming to the nascentfield of Artificial Intelligence in an attempt to produce intelligent softwarewithout relying on neural networks modeled on the brain or human expert-based heuristicprogramming. Now, researchers in the Department of Ecology and EvolutionaryBiology at Princeton University haveshown the inverse namely, that network theory, when applied to softwaresystems, provides surprising insights into biology, ecology and evolution. Specifically,they explored evolutionary behavior in complex systems by analyzing how theDebian GNU/Linux operating system utilizes modular code. The researchers foundthat how the network becomes more modular over time in various OS installationsoften parallels that of ecological relationships between interacting species.