Abstract. We demonstrate the emergence of collective behavior in two evolutionary computation systems, one an evolutionary extension of a classic (highly constrained) flocking algorithm and the other a relatively un-constrained system in which the behavior of agents is governed by evolved computer programs. We describe the systems in detail, document the emergence of collective behavior, and argue that these systems present new opportunities for the study of group dynamics in an evolutionary context.
That digital technology has transformed the forms and spaces of what we design has become commonplace. Its transformative potential for forms of design practice and spaces of knowledge has remained less examined, but is ultimately more radical in its implications. With the shift from the second machine age to that of information, the reflexive network has replaced the assembly line as a preeminent model of organisation even as media infrastructures have augmented physical transportation at multiple scales stretching from discrete sites of production and consumption, to economic, political and even social institutions. This nexus of computation, telecommunications and new organisations of economic and political power suggest that the 19th-century division of design into distinct professions might now be displaced by different organisations of knowledge and practices. The texts and projects contained in this issue demonstrate how networks of international, transdisciplinary, decentralised practices are emerging to reposition and retool design practice to engage today's unconventional problems, site briefs, clients and manufacturing processes.'Collective intelligence', as both a concept and a term, has its roots in a number of historical and contemporary contexts. In the 1960s Marshall McLuhan noticed the emergence of new social organisations based on principles of decentralisation and collectivity. Enabled in part by the advent of telecommunication technology, McLuhan quaintly referred to this model as 'the global village'. 1 Computing pioneer Douglas Englebart went further by suggesting that communication
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.