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Was it Creatures From Primordial Silicon? http://www.netscrap.com/netscrap_detail.cfm?scrap_id=73 http://www.netscrap.com/netscrap_detail.cfm?scrap_id=73 They

Was it Creatures From Primordial Silicon? http://www.netscrap.com/netscrap_detail.cfm?scrap_id=73 http://www.netscrap.com/netscrap_detail.cfm?scrap_id=73 They used a FPGA for voice detection. It was fascinating they didn't understand how it worked, and it wasn't a universal design because it depended on manufacturing variation.

aequitas 8y ago
I read it in a Dutch magazine, but it could very well have been based on the article you're referring to. It was a lot shorter, but 1998 seems the right time.
jccalhoun 8y ago
I read about the same research in an article in Discover Magazine: http://discovermagazine.com/1998/jun/evolvingaconscio1453 http://discovermagazine.com/1998/jun/evolvingaconscio1453
- mpl 8y ago
  This article is what made me decide to major in CS. I very much remember reading it in my high school library during the final few days before graduation. Every time I see it mentioned somewhere I get that feeling . . . not quite nostalgia, but a reminder of why I love what I do.
therein 8y ago
Thanks for sharing that. This was an absolutely fascinating read. I am assuming there are many contemporary projects that replicated this workflow with modern FPGA, right? Anything on GitHub? I have a TinyFPGA sitting here, I could try stuff on that.
Izkata 8y ago
I remember reading this years ago, and always found this part by far the most interesting: > A further five cells appeared to serve no logical purpose at all--there was no route of connections by which they could influence the output. And yet if he disconnected them, the circuit stopped working. > It appears that evolution made use of some physical property of these cells--possibly a capacitive effect or electromagnetic inductance--to influence a signal passing nearby. Somehow, it seized on this subtle effect and incorporated it into the solution.

aequitas 8y ago

I read it in a Dutch magazine, but it could very well have been based on the article you're referring to. It was a lot shorter, but 1998 seems the right time.

jccalhoun 8y ago

I read about the same research in an article in Discover Magazine: http://discovermagazine.com/1998/jun/evolvingaconscio1453 http://discovermagazine.com/1998/jun/evolvingaconscio1453

mpl 8y ago
This article is what made me decide to major in CS. I very much remember reading it in my high school library during the final few days before graduation. Every time I see it mentioned somewhere I get that feeling . . . not quite nostalgia, but a reminder of why I love what I do.

therein 8y ago

Thanks for sharing that. This was an absolutely fascinating read. I am assuming there are many contemporary projects that replicated this workflow with modern FPGA, right? Anything on GitHub? I have a TinyFPGA sitting here, I could try stuff on that.

Izkata 8y ago

I remember reading this years ago, and always found this part by far the most interesting: > A further five cells appeared to serve no logical purpose at all--there was no route of connections by which they could influence the output. And yet if he disconnected them, the circuit stopped working. > It appears that evolution made use of some physical property of these cells--possibly a capacitive effect or electromagnetic inductance--to influence a signal passing nearby. Somehow, it seized on this subtle effect and incorporated it into the solution.