Evaluating evolution as a learning algorithm

Abstract

We interpret the Moran model of natural selection and drift as an algorithm for learning features of a simplified fitness landscape, specifically genotype superiority. This algorithm's efficiency in extracting these characteristics is evaluated by comparing it to a novel Bayesian learning algorithm developed using information-theoretic tools. This algorithm makes use of a communication channel analogy between an environment and an evolving population. We use the associated channel-rate to determine an informative population-sampling procedure. We find that the algorithm can identify genotype superiority faster than the Moran model but at the cost of larger fluctuations in uncertainty.