Creation: Life and How To Make It by Steve Grand, Weidenfeld and Nicolson,
拢18.99, ISBN 0297643916
A SELF-CONFESSED fugitive from mainstream science, Steve Grand made his name
with a ground breaking virtual reality game called Creatures. Using the 鈥渞ules鈥�
of evolution, Grand鈥檚 creatures had a complex existence, living, evolving and
dying inside a computer鈥攁nd involving the player in helping the creatures
to survive. Undoubtedly successful, this game brought Grand into public
prominence. Now he鈥檚 written the book of the game, Creation: Life and How To
Make It. It鈥檚 a friendly collection of the thoughts of this self-educated,
super-programmer about life, the Universe and all else. But there鈥檚 a catch:
this life and this universe exist primarily in the virtual domain of a computer
screen.
Grand uses this artificial reality to reflect on and explain what for him are
the defining features of real life. This makes for good reading, but entices
Grand, and, more seriously, the reader, into a regrettable deception. He blurs
the line between the real and the artificial. And this puts the scientific
validity of the entire book into serious jeopardy.
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This probably sounds a little harsh (after all, Grand may not be aiming for
scientific validity) but it鈥檚 borne out by large parts of the book. Apologising
for his 鈥渟taggering lack of modesty鈥�, Grand asserts that 鈥淐reatures was probably
the closest thing there has been to a new form of life on this planet in four
billion years鈥�. Noting a possible crumb of exaggeration here, I wondered whether
Grand saw himself following in the footsteps of that semi-mythical maze builder
and sculptor Daedalus.
His statues were said to have been so realistic that the citizens of Crete
believed them to be alive. Even today the human race is only too ready to
attribute life to entirely inanimate things. Who hasn鈥檛 said something like 鈥渕y
stubborn car wouldn鈥檛 start this morning.鈥�? In the end, however, while virtual
reality may make a brave new world of computer games, it can鈥檛 be viewed on a
par with biological life. It鈥檚 misleading to assert that simulations need to be
taken as seriously as biological life, although the illusion of life adds to the
appeal of games.
Happily, much of Grand鈥檚 book shows that he has thought very carefully about
the definitions of life. He explains its biology and chemistry clearly and
positively. So it is all the more surprising when he repeatedly returns to argue
that when you roll all this into a computer, life comparable in meaning and
value with the real, squishy version has been created. This is because his
creatures follow the life cycles of living organisms.
I am not arguing that the artificial has no value in elucidating the real.
Indeed, my own work is based on simulating brains to unravel the mechanisms of
thought processes, but this can work only if the line between the real and the
artificial is steadfastly held and embedded in the science.
Halfway through the book, for example, I am asked to imagine that I have a
super-scanner which automatically creates virtual objects in a computer. It
simulates every detail, down to molecular levels, of the things that are being
scanned: chairs, washing machines, clocks, the lot. Grand then asks me to work
out what would happen if I turn the scanner on myself and a virtual Igor appears
on the screen.
鈥淲hat happens next is truly startling to both of you,鈥� he says. 鈥淵our whole
existence has suddenly and completely bifurcated.鈥� While this idea is thought
provoking, it鈥檚 misleading. The sleight of hand lies in the bifurcated use of
the word 鈥渆xistence鈥�. My virtual alter-Igor exists only in the sense that Mickey
Mouse exists in an enjoyable cartoon movie. While alter-Igor may give me some
hints on how my existence might develop for a while, this is also true of my
shaving mirror.
An Igor does, in fact, make an appearance in Creatures. In a chapter entitled
鈥淚gor, hand me the screwdriver鈥� Grand begins to describe some of the programming
that goes into the making of his creatures. This is instructive and may even
inspire other games programmers.
Grand makes skilful use of emergent properties, that is, those that occur as
a result of the interaction of parts of program rather than explicitly
programmed into the virtual creature. This is particularly engaging for the game
player when surprising interactions occur between the virtual creatures and
their environments.
It鈥檚 impossible, however, to avoid Grand鈥檚 urge to play God, and to be
remembered for launching his creations as new inhabitants of the Earth. I advise
readers to take this idea with sizeable pinches of salt. I cannot in all honesty
recommend his book as making a contribution to the general evaluation and
understanding of how artificial life relates to its real counterpart. But put
aside the hype, and you are in for an enjoyable read.