Cellular automata are computers, similar to Turing machines. The main difference is that Turing machines use a one-dimensional tape, whereas cellular automata use a two-dimensional grid. The best-known cellular automaton is the Game of Life, which is a universal computer. It belongs to a family of cellular automata with 262,144 members. Playing the Game of Life generally involves engineering; that is, assembling a device composed of various parts that are combined to achieve a specific intended result. Instead of engineering cellular automata, we propose evolving cellular automata. Evolution applies mutation and selection to a population of organisms. If a mutation increases the fitness of an organism, it may have many descendants, displacing the less fit organisms. Unlike engineering, evolution does not work towards an imagined goal. Evolution works towards increasing fitness, with no expectations about the specific form of the final result. Mutation, selection, and fitness yield structures that appear to be more organic and life-like than engineered structures. In our experiments, the patterns resulting from evolving cellular automata look much like the spots on leopards and the stripes on tigers.

翻译：细胞自动机是一种计算机，类似于图灵机。主要区别在于图灵机使用一维纸带，而细胞自动机使用二维网格。最著名的细胞自动机是“生命游戏”，它是一种通用计算机。它属于一个拥有262,144个成员的细胞自动机家族。运行生命游戏通常涉及工程学方法；即组装一个由不同部件构成的设备，这些部件组合起来以实现特定的预期结果。我们提出演化细胞自动机，而非工程化设计。演化将突变和选择应用于一个生物种群。如果突变提高了生物体的适应度，它可能拥有许多后代，从而取代适应度较低的生物体。与工程学不同，演化并不朝着一个设想的目标工作。演化致力于提高适应度，对最终结果的具体形式没有预期。突变、选择和适应度产生的结构，看起来比工程化结构更具有机性和生命感。在我们的实验中，通过演化细胞自动机产生的图案，看起来非常像豹子身上的斑点和老虎身上的条纹。