The Biology of Computer Life: Survival, Emotion and Free Will

Abstract

1 The Nature of Computer Life.- Preamble.- Are Computers Alive?.- Means, Ends and Entropy.- Strategies for Survival.- Symbiosis and Survival.- Evolution and Machines.- Features of Computer Life.- Summary.- 2 Exploring the Life Criteria.- Preamble.- The Place of Energy.- The Importance of Information.- The Route to Reproduction.- Growth in Machines.- Summary.- 3 Freedom and Autonomy.- Preamble.- The Miller Decider.- Philosophy and Free Will.- Free Will as Choice.- The Autonomous Computer.- The Autonomous Robot.- Creativity and Chance.- Summary.- 4 Towards Artificial Emotion.- Preamble.- Reason and Emotion.- The Physiology of Emotion.- The Cybernetics of Emotion.- AI, Cognition and Emotion.- Emotion in Computers.- The Ethical Computer.- The Aesthetic Computer.- Summary.- 5 Relating to Computer Life.- Preamble.- Responses to Computer Life.- Developing the Relationship.- The Intimate Connection.- Summary.- 6 The Future.- References.