Introduction
Karl Sim produced a series of virtual creatures that can move and behave in a simulated world of physics. He was inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution. Organisms produce undirected variation. When they face pressure to survive, the dominant side is selected and allowed to reproduce. In Sim’s program, he tested each virtual block creature’s ability to perform a given task, such as swimming, walking, jumping, following, and snatching cubes. Those creatures that were most successful at the task were selected to survive, and their virtual genes were copied, combined, and randomly mutated to produce a new generation and be tested again.
He noted the lack of goals in natural evolution. He believes that if this evolution is allowed to happen without a defined goal, then the results have great potential. He tried to get as close to this feature of biological evolution as possible, but in reality, he inevitably set some goals for his program.
Discussion
The work largely relies on the uncertainty of future development. Sim just created a set of genetic codes for the computer to develop virtual creatures but he couldn’t actually control the results of how these creatures would be like. Then the process of evolution also aimed to duplicate Darwinian evolutions, which means the subspecies is the result of natural selection without human intervention. This feature is really inspiring. Given that each time the computer generates a different image, even though Sim is the creator of the entire work, he cannot predict or explain the process by which a particular creature is created. This is very similar to a lot of other examples of generative art that we’ve seen before, telling us that when it comes to generative art, all we can do is give the computer some guidance, but we don’t have absolute control over the whole work. It is also because of its random and uncontrollable characteristics that this creating process becomes more interesting and full of surprises.
This also inspires us that in future works, we should not treat them as ordinary paintings, but should embrace this feature of generative art and let the computer “take more control”. In that way, we are very likely to create something really novel and unexpected.
Individual Conclusion
Karl Sim devoted himself to imitate the Darwinian evolution. The genetic code of the organism that wins the race to produce is copied, combined and mutated to produce a new generation. To approach the uncertainty and uncontrollability of the evolutionary process, Sim only set a rule for the program, instead of producing every creature specifically. In the next project, I will think about how to give the program some space to run autonomously, rather than setting every step.