life. For instance, whether we speak of the mind, the trees or society, we are referring to entities all made from the same non-stuff. From this perspective everything becomes software that evolves hardware because all software is comprised of the same basic mechanisms, “For example, one crucial element is the ‘modulator’ – a mechanism that allows one flow of cause and effect to modify another. In electronics we call modulators ‘transistors’, while in biological systems we call them ‘synapses’ or ‘catalytic reactions’…It seems to me that by identifying these few cybernetic elements from which all software (matter, life, mind society) is constructed, we find ourselves with a universal LEGO set. From these blocks, we can create all kinds of organizations, including intelligent living ones” (Grand 3).
One of the most significant artificial life creations and applications has been the development and use of the Bot. Bots promise to revolutionize the way we use the Internet in the sense that they can be individually tailored to search the massive amounts of information and data available to produc
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