Four Problems for which a Computer Program Evolved by Genetic Programming is Competitive with Human Performance

It would be desirable if computers could solve problems without the need for a human to write the detailed programmatic steps. That is, it would be desirable to have a domainindependent automatic programming technique in which "What You Want Is What You Get" ("WYWIWYG" -- pronounced "wow-eee-wig"). Genetic programming is such a technique. This paper surveys three recent examples of problems (from the fields of cellular automata and molecular biology) in which genetic programming evolved a computer program that produced results that were slightly better than human performance for the same problem. This paper then discusses the problem of electronic circuit synthesis in greater detail. It shows how genetic programming can evolve both the topology of a desired electrical circuit and the sizing (numerical values) for each component in a crossover (woofer and tweeter) filter. Genetic programming has also evolved the design for a lowpass filter, the design of an amplifier, and the design fo..