%0 Generic %1 walker2012algorithmic %A Walker, Sara Imari %A Davies, Paul C. W. %D 2012 %K algorithmic life origins %T The Algorithmic Origins of Life %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4803 %X Although it has been notoriously difficult to pin down precisely what it is that makes life so distinctive and remarkable, there is general agreement that its informational aspect is one key property, perhaps the key property. The unique informational narrative of living systems suggests that life may be characterized by context-dependent causal influences, and in particular, that top-down (or downward) causation -- where higher-levels influence and constrain the dynamics of lower-levels in organizational hierarchies - may be a major contributor to the hierarchal structure of living systems. Here we propose that the origin of life may correspond to a physical transition associated with a fundamental shift in causal structure. The origin of life may therefore be characterized by a transition from bottom-up to top-down causation, mediated by a reversal in the dominant direction of the flow of information from lower to higher levels of organization (bottom-up), to that from higher to lower levels of organization (top-down). Such a transition may be akin to a thermodynamic phase transition, with the crucial distinction that determining which phase (nonlife or life) a given system is in requires dynamical information and therefore can only be inferred by identifying causal relationships. We discuss one potential measure of such a transition, which is amenable to laboratory study, and how the proposed mechanism corresponds to the onset of the unique mode of (algorithmic) information processing characteristic of living systems.

@misc{walker2012algorithmic, abstract = {Although it has been notoriously difficult to pin down precisely what it is that makes life so distinctive and remarkable, there is general agreement that its informational aspect is one key property, perhaps the key property. The unique informational narrative of living systems suggests that life may be characterized by context-dependent causal influences, and in particular, that top-down (or downward) causation -- where higher-levels influence and constrain the dynamics of lower-levels in organizational hierarchies - may be a major contributor to the hierarchal structure of living systems. Here we propose that the origin of life may correspond to a physical transition associated with a fundamental shift in causal structure. The origin of life may therefore be characterized by a transition from bottom-up to top-down causation, mediated by a reversal in the dominant direction of the flow of information from lower to higher levels of organization (bottom-up), to that from higher to lower levels of organization (top-down). Such a transition may be akin to a thermodynamic phase transition, with the crucial distinction that determining which phase (nonlife or life) a given system is in requires dynamical information and therefore can only be inferred by identifying causal relationships. We discuss one potential measure of such a transition, which is amenable to laboratory study, and how the proposed mechanism corresponds to the onset of the unique mode of (algorithmic) information processing characteristic of living systems.}, added-at = {2012-08-03T23:33:17.000+0200}, author = {Walker, Sara Imari and Davies, Paul C. W.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2412e6ef54ec5e7813a1917859ed93ce4/hito1}, description = {The Algorithmic Origins of Life}, interhash = {37dde25af753b8e5b507512734fc8993}, intrahash = {412e6ef54ec5e7813a1917859ed93ce4}, keywords = {algorithmic life origins}, note = {cite arxiv:1207.4803Comment: 34 pages, 3 figures, 1 table}, timestamp = {2012-08-03T23:33:17.000+0200}, title = {The Algorithmic Origins of Life}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4803}, year = 2012 }