Episode 25: Universal Darwinism - Does Artificial Intelligence Create Knowledge?

from The Theory of Anything · host Bruce Nielson and Peter Johansen

In The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch claimed that no existing evolutionary algorithm has yet created knowledge. But Karl Popper and Donald Campbell beg to differ and have argued that knowledge-creating evolutionary algorithms are ubiquitous, common, and easy to implement. Who is right?  In this episode, we look at both arguments and assess them using Popper's epistemology. And along the way, we'll define the minimum requirements for an evolutionary algorithm (aka Universal Darwinism), explore what knowledge-creation is and then, finally, we'll attempt to answer the question of whether or not existing Artificial Intelligence algorithms create knowledge. Visuals are available on Youtube. This episode may benefit from seeing the visuals.  For more information on Donald Campbell's theory, this blog post covers his arguments.  A summary of the contradiction between David Deutsch's argument and Campbell/Popper's argument is in this blog post. 

What this episode covers

In The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch claimed that no existing evolutionary algorithm has yet created knowledge. But Karl Popper and Donald Campbell beg to differ and have argued that knowledge-creating evolutionary algorithms are ubiquitous, common, and easy to implement. Who is right? In this episode, we look at both arguments and assess them using Popper's epistemology. And along the way, we'll define the minimum requirements for an evolutionary algorithm (aka Universal Darwinism), explore what knowledge-creation is and then, finally, we'll attempt to answer the question of whether or not existing Artificial Intelligence algorithms create knowledge. Visuals are available on Youtube. This episode may benefit from seeing the visuals. For more information on Donald Campbell's theory, this blog post covers his arguments. A summary of the contradiction between David Deutsch's argument and Campbell/Popper's argument is in this blog post.