Work

Emergent Collective Reproduction via Evolving Neuronal Flocks

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study advances the understanding of evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs) through a novel artificial life framework, VitaNova, which integrates self-organization and natural selection to simulate the emergence of complex, reproductive groups. By dynamically modeling individual agents within an environment shaped by predators and spatial constraints, VitaNova reveals mechanisms by which simple agents evolve into cohesive units exhibiting collective reproduction. The findings highlight the synergy between self-organized behaviors and adaptive evolutionary strategies as fundamental drivers of ETIs. This approach deepens our understanding of higher-order biological individuality and offers a new empirical pathway for investigating ETIs, extending current theoretical frameworks.

Source: Northeast Journal of Complex Systems

DOI: 10.63562/2577-8439.1109

Authors: Nam H. Le, Michael Levin, Richard A. Watson, Josh Bongard, Christopher L. Buckley

Institutions: University of Vermont, Tufts University, University of Southampton, University of Sussex

Language: English

Topic: Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: John Templeton Foundation, University of Southampton, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Army Research Office

Awards: Distributed neural processing of self-generated visual input in a vertebrate brain, Synthetic Living Machines and the Emergence of Purpose, Agency, Directionality, and Function: Foundations for a Science of Purpose, The Scaling-up of Purpose in Evolution (evo-ego): Connectionist approaches to the evolutionary transitions in individuality, G7584585124