[visarga]

Yep, same way AlphaGo Zero learned to play. It evolved, generation by generation, by selection. People think an agent can't solve a problem unless it has full understanding, but that's not true, selection based on fitness can do it.

[posterboy]

Cue fun time with etymology: understand translated to Latin and back yields support, which is significant, kinda, because support vectors are one model of machine intelligence, while DNA is basically a vector, in terms of transcription, or a matrix even, looking closer at the base molecules.

disclaimer: I have n o idea about support vectors, to be honest

[visarga]

Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are a classification technique that was in vogue before 2012, with great results for smallish problems. It's still useful today, but less talked about, I mean, it's just assumed as common knowledge.

[anton-107]

i'm wondering if 15-25 generations (that's approximately how many generations of garden birds were there since the invention of the cigarettes with filters) are enough for evolution to actually show this trend here

[michaelbuckbee]

Tangentially related - there was the russian experiment on fox domestication that had decent success in selecting for "tameability" with just 3 generations.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160912-a-soviet-scientist-c...

[visarga]

I think some birds are actually pretty smart and can learn by imitating other birds, so it's a cultural thing. All it takes is one bird to discover it.

Take a look at this video: "Crow uses a vending machine". It was an experiment where they trained crows to collect coins and put them into a vending machine for a few grains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qSsVBPh9Lo