The Computer Revolution/Artificial Intelligence/Genetic Algorithms

Genetic Algorithms- an AI system that mimics the evolutionary, survival-of-the fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem.

Genetic Algorithms use 3 concepts of evolution:

  1. Selection or the survival of the fittest. The key to selection is to give preference to better outcomes.
  2. Crossover or combining portions of good outcomes in the hope of creating an even better outcome
  3. Mutation or randomly trying combinations and evaluating the success (or failure) of the outcome.

Genetic Algorithms are best suited to decision-making environments in which thousands, or perhaps millions, of solutions are possible. Genetic algorithms can find and evaluate solutions intelligently and can get through many more possibilities more thoroughly and faster than a human can.