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A virus is DNA encapsulated in proteins. DNA is nothing more than information and the encapsulating proteins a medium to infect a host. Think of it as a small p
by jerome-jh 6y ago
A virus is DNA encapsulated in proteins. DNA is nothing more than information and the encapsulating proteins a medium to infect a host. Think of it as a small program on a USB drive. It does not compute nor reproduce by itself, only thanks to a host system.
As for optimization, it is a pure random walk.
- jqpabc123 6y agoYou've re-stated the problem but you haven't changed the facts. We have yet to build a computer program that can adapt and "learn" and grow as effectively or as efficiently as a simple biological virus. In other words, a virus; which is technically not even alive, is closer to being "intelligent" than anything AI has yet produced. Never mind intelligence that is alive.
- jerome-jh 6y agoAgain it is a pure random walk, only parallelized on a large number of nodes, and run for a very long time: basically since the beginning of life. I would not describe this process as efficient. It has no memory: mutations could be randomly done and undone. A huge majority of mutations lead to non viable viruses, still keep occurring again and again. Of course it successfully adapts to changing conditions, but without that that would not even be an optimization algorithm. Given huge resources we would have no difficulty simulating such a process. At a smaller scale it has inspired genetic algorithms and a large family of stochastic algorithms, which had to be carefully refined to become useful. We do not have the same resources and the same patience as Mother Nature.
- jqpabc123 6y agoWe do not have the same resources and the same patience as Mother Nature. Exactly! Overall, Mother Nature is actually pretty resource efficient.