Jeff Clune: Genetic Algorithms, Quality-Diversity, Curiosity

Origins

The concept of modularity in evolution is a fascinating topic explored by Jeff Clune. He discusses how modularity, the organization of systems into distinct modules, is prevalent in nature but its origins remain a mystery. Clune suggests that modularity might not have evolved for adaptability, but rather as a solution to the physical constraints of biological systems, such as the brain's wiring 1.

Modularity is everywhere, but we don't really know where it came from.

--- Jeff Clune

By simulating evolution with and without connection costs, Clune demonstrates that modularity emerges when there is a cost for connections, providing a new perspective on its evolutionary origins 2.

   

AI Applications

Modularity's principles extend beyond biology into artificial intelligence, addressing challenges like catastrophic forgetting. Jeff Clune explains that while humans can switch between tasks without losing previous skills, AI systems struggle with this, often erasing prior knowledge when learning new tasks 3.

Animals and humans forget gradually, whereas machine learning forgets catastrophically.

--- Jeff Clune

Clune's research explores using neuromodulation to create modular AI systems that can retain learned skills by turning learning on and off in specific brain regions, effectively solving catastrophic forgetting in simple neural networks 4.