Communications of the ACM
Why Animal Extinction Is Crippling Computer Science
Credit: Getty Images
Algorithms and species extinction have a lot in common. Each species is loaded with an arsenal of algorithms ready to tackle diverse problems. Every distinct environment offers different challenges that must be overcome to survive. As a result, the basic algorithms these species use have been fine-tuned to work in diverse settings.
Computer scientists are now seriously studying these "algorithms in nature" to generate new solutions to basic engineering problems. Advances in the ability to probe, measure, and manipulate biological systems has generated unprecedented views on how biological systems actually work. In addition, computing devices have become radically more mobile, energy-efficient, and adaptive—all features that are hallmarks of biological systems. The convergence of computer science and biology has the potential to yield new perspectives on fundamental biological problems.
This thinking has been extended into plant biology. Plant architectures can be viewed as transportation networks used to shuttle nutrients amongst different organs. Like a subway system, plants need to build a network that allows nutrients to be transported quickly while balancing the cost of building and maintaining the network. Insights from plants could reveal new strategies for building better infrastructure networks.
When a species goes extinct, what is fundamentally lost are algorithms. As the rate of extinction increases, how many elegant algorithms to long-standing or future scientific problems will vanish with them?
From Wired – Subscription May Be Required
View Full Article
No entries found