Artificial Life XI
The Eleventh International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of
Living Systems
5th - 8th August 2008, Winchester, UK
www.alifexi.org

OVERVIEW
Artificial life investigates the fundamental properties of living
systems through simulating and synthesizing biological entities and
processes in artificial media. Summer 2008 will see the international
Alife conference hosted by the University of Southampton, UK, bringing
the meeting to Europe for the first time in its 21-year history. Over
the last two decades, some of the highly speculative ideas that were
discussed at the field's inception have matured to the extent that new
conferences and journals devoted to them are being established:
synthesising artificial cells, simulating massive biological networks,
exploiting biological substrates for computation and control, and
deploying bio-inspired engineering are all now cutting-edge practice.
The ALIFE XI conference provides an opportunity for those working across
these topics to get together and exchange ideas and results. To this
end, the conference will present a selection of the best current work in
the field, highlight new directions for investigation, and present
high-profile keynote speakers.

Papers are welcome in all areas of the field, including:
€ Synthesis and origin of life, self-organization, self-replication,
artificial chemistries
€ Evolution and adaptation, evolutionary dynamics, evolutionary games,
coevolution, major evolutionary transitions, levels of selection,
ecosystems
€ Development, differentiation, and regulation; generative representations
€ Synthetic biology
€ Self-organizing technology, self-* computing and computational ecosystems
€ Unconventional and biologically inspired computing
€ Bio-inspired robots and embodied cognition, autonomous agents,
evolutionary robotics
€ Collective behavior, communication, cooperation
€ Artificial consciousness; the relationship between life and mind
€ Philosophical, ethical, and cultural implications
€ Mathematical and philosophical foundations of Alife, new and creative
syntheses

Several artificial life "themes" have been proposed as live research
topics around which conference sessions may organise. See
www.alifexi.org/themes for full details.

LOCATION
The conference will be held in Winchester, a beautiful historic city in
southern England known for its 11th-century cathedral and 12th-century
castle. Winchester is set in forested countryside about an hour
southwest of London and Heathrow airport, and a few miles from the host
institution, the University of Southampton.

PAPER/ABSTRACT FORMAT
There are two options for submission: either full paper format or
abstract format. Full papers have an 8 page maximum length, while
abstracts are limited to 500 words. Every submission will be subject to
full peer review. All accepted submissions will be allocated an oral
presentation slot with no distinction being made between the two
submission formats. All formatting guidelines (including word and latex
style files) and submission instructions will soon be available on the
conference submission page.

PUBLICATION
Every accepted full-paper and abstract submission will be published by
MIT Press in a single online open-access proceedings volume. The best
15-20 papers will have the opportunity to be published in special issues
of the MIT Press journal Artificial Life.

IMPORTANT DATES
- 29 February 2008: Full paper submission deadline
- 18 April 2008: Notice of acceptance for full papers
- 25 April 2008: Abstract submission deadline
- 9 May 2008: Camera ready deadline
- 5-8 August 2008: Conference dates

ORGANIZATION
Seth Bullock (chair), Jason Noble, Richard Watson, Mark Bedau

HOST INSTITUTION
School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK

CONTACT
For further information about the conference program, travel,
accommodation, and local arrangements, please see www.alifexi.org. For
questions about the submission and reviewing process, please email
[log in to unmask] For all other questions, contact
[log in to unmask]

_______________________________________________________________________
Professor Nigel Gilbert, Editor, Journal of Artificial Societies and
     Social Simulation, <http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS/>
        Centre for Research on Social Simulation (CRESS)
   Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
       Tel:+44 1483 689173 [log in to unmask]
             <http://cress.soc.surrey.ac.uk/>