The Price of Programmability
Michael Conrad · Computerkultur · 1990
Abstract Programmability and computational efficiency are fundamental attributes of computing systems. A third attribute is evolutionary adaptability, the ability of a system to self-organize through a variation and selection process. The author has previously proposed that these three attributes of computing are linked by a trade-off principle, which may be roughly stated thus: a computing system cannot at the same time have high programmability, high computational efficiency, and high evolutionary adaptability (e.g., Conrad 1972, 1974, 1985). The purpose of the present paper is to outline the reasons for the trade-off principle in a manner which, though not entirely formal, is sufficiently detailed to allow for a well-defined formulation. We also consider the implications of the principle, first for alternative computer architectures suited to solving problems by methods of evolutionary search and second, for limits on the capacity of programmable machines to simulate nature and duplicate intelligence.