Artefactual Autopoiesis combines insights from biology, robotics, and artificial intelligence to explore the possibility of creating machines that not only mimic life-like behavior but also possess the intrinsic capability for self-reproduction and maintenance akin to biological entities. This concept pushes the boundaries of artificial life (ALife) research, where the goal is not just to simulate life computationally but to instantiate life-like properties in artificial media. The significance of this concept lies in its potential to redefine what it means to be alive and how life-like properties can emerge in non-biological substrates, thus offering profound implications for theoretical biology, robotics, and the future development of AGI.
The term "Autopoiesis" was first introduced by Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela in 1972 to describe the self-maintaining chemistry of living cells. The idea of extending this principle to artificial systems (Artefactual Autopoiesis) emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as researchers in artificial life began to explore the creation of self-replicating and self-sustaining systems.
While Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela were pivotal in establishing the concept of autopoiesis, the extension to artificial systems involves a broader interdisciplinary community, including researchers in artificial life, robotics, and systems theory, though no singular figure stands out as the definitive contributor to artefactual autopoiesis. The field of artificial life, in general, has seen contributions from figures such as John von Neumann, who theorized about self-replicating machines, and more contemporary researchers who continue to explore the boundaries of creating life-like properties in artificial entities.