Seeking open-ended evolution in Swarm Chemistry

This paper reports several new simulation results obtained with the revised Swarm Chemistry model. The model extensions included local transmission of recipes (kinetic rules) between particles, their stochastic differentiation, and competition and mutation of recipes. These extensions aimed to make the swarms capable of demonstrating open-ended evolution. The results indicated that “cooperation” among particles is essential for creating and maintaining macroscopic coherent structures, and that high mutation rates and dynamic environmental conditions may promote continuing evolutionary changes.