A generative bias towards average complexity in artificial cell lineages

Abstract

The evolution of life on earth has been characterized by generalized long-term increases in phenotypic complexity. Although natural selection is a plausible cause for these trends, one alternative hypothesis - generative bias - has been proposed repeatedly based on theoretical considerations. Here, we introduce a computational model of a developmental system and use it to test the hypothesis that long-term increasing trends in phenotypic complexity are caused by a generative bias towards greater complexity. We use our model to generate random organisms with different levels of phenotypic complexity and analyse the distributions of mutational effects on complexity. We show that highly complex..