Towards Understanding Evolved Memory Retaining Circuitry in the Wireworld Cellular Automaton

Understanding how cognition evolved will require a deep dive into the fundamental workings of evolved cognitive systems. Here, we focus on analyzing digitally evolved “Wire brains”, a model of cognition based on the Wireworld cellular automata. By studying these simple yet functionally rich models of collective intelligence, we aim to shed light on the operational principles of distributed cognitive systems at their most basic level. We present a novel methodology for analyzing evolved Wire brains, employing information theory to map information flows and uncover the operational principles underlying cognitive processes. Our findings reveal key mechanisms of memory in Wire brains, offering broader implications for understanding the evolution of biological cognition and inspiring innovative approaches in artificial intelligence and cognitive science.