News archive

An update on various projects

29 Jul 2026

I’m happy to share updates on two projects that I have been working on for a while: the production of a high-quality English translation of Nils Aall Barricelli’s early paper on artificial life, Esempi Numerici di Processi di Evoluzione (1954), and the production of new editions of W. Grove’s very early novels about machines with free will and the ability to reproduce and evolve, A Mexican Mystery (1888) and The Wreck of a World (1890).

Barricelli translation and commentary submitted

22 May 2026

I am really pleased to share the news that the side project I’ve been working on to produce an English translation of Nils Aall Barricelli’s groundbreaking 1954 paper Esempi Numerici di Processi di Evoluzione, together with an accompanying commentary, has reached a major milestone today with both manuscripts being submitted to the Artificial Life journal.

A quick update on various projects

11 Jul 2025

I’ve not posted here in a while but I’ve been busy working on various projects in the background. Here’s a quick update on my Barricelli 1954 project and also on a project to produce new editions of W. Grove’s very early novels on AI takeover written in 1888-1890.

Second edition of author-formatted version of Rise of the Self-Replicators

10 Oct 2024

I am pleased to announce that a second edition of the author-formatted version of our book Rise of the Self-Replicators is now available for free download and to read online!

This new edition includes the 2024 afterword (which was published as a paper in the Artificial Life journal earlier this year) as an additional chapter.

Discussing Open-Endedness and Open-Ended Evolution with Ken Stanley

08 Aug 2024

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of having a deep-dive discussion with Ken Stanley on the topics of open-endedness and open-ended evolution in AI and ALife systems. The discussion was hosted by Tom Barbalet on his Last Monkey Standing YouTube channel.

New special issue of Artificial Life journal on Open-Ended Evolution

01 Aug 2024

I am very pleased to announce that the new special issue of the Artificial Life journal on open-ended evolution is now out!

Discussing Open-Ended Evolution and Artificial Life with Tom Barbalet

31 Jul 2024

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of talking to Tom Barbalet on his Last Monkey Standing YouTube channel. We talked for an hour on subjects relating to artificial life and open-ended evolution.

New eBook Version of Early Sci-Fi Adventure Now Available!

06 Mar 2024

I am pleased to announce that my publishing company, Enchanted Bit, has released a new ebook version of the 1903 biological sci-fi adventure The Prots: A Weird Romance.