Evolution of Communication in a Population of Simple Machines Cs-90-99

We show that communication may evolve in a population of simple machines that are physically capable of sensing and modifying a shared environment, and for which there is selective pressure in favor of cooperative behavior. The emergence of communication was detected by comparing simulations in which communication was permitted with those in which it was suppressed. When communication was not suppressed we found that at the end of the experiment the average tness of the population was 84% higher and had increased at a rate 30 times faster than when communication was suppressed. Furthermore, when communication was suppressed, the statistical association of symbols with situations was random, as is expected. In contrast, permitting communication led to very structured associations of symbols and situations, as determined by a variety of measures (e.g., coeecient of variation and entropy). Inspection of the structure of individual highly t machines connrmed the statistical structure. We also investigated a simple kind of learning. This did not help when communication was suppressed, but when communication was permitted the resulting tness was 845% higher and increased at a rate 80 times as fast as when it was suppressed. We argue that the experiments described here show a new way to investigate the emergence of communication, its function in populations of simple machines, and the structure of the resulting symbol systems.