Cultural transmission of information in genetic programming

This paper shows how the performance of a genetic programming system can be improved through the addition of mechanisms for nongenetic transmission of information between individuals (culture). Teller has previously shown how genetic programming systems can be enhanced through the addition of memory mechanisms for individual programs [Teller 1994]; in this paper we show how Teller's memory mechanism can be changed to allow for communication between individuals within and across generations. We show the effects of indexed memory and culture on the performance of a genetic programming system on a symbolic regression problem, on Koza's Lawnmower problem, and on Wumpus world agent problems. We show that culture can reduce the computational effort required to solve all of these problems. We conclude with a discussion of possible improvements to the technique.