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Another Kind of Mutation

The genetic algorithm that makes the Electric Sheep has mutation -- it was programmed that way to evolve. But there's another kind of mutation: when bad RAM, cosmic rays, and the flakiness of the internet defeat TCP/IP and "deterministic" computing. The below thumbnails are of a filmstrip from one sheep, each frame rendered by a different machine (some still incomplete). One came back with a difference of opinion :). Unlike the intentional mutations these are not inherited, they are more like cancer. The HiFi version distributes each frame across several machines so that these mutants (not to mention hacker attacks) can be eliminated. This sheep was designed by Coppercat who also pointed out the greenie to me.

Posted by spot at April 28, 2007 12:24 AM