Key insights
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Embodied AI simulates evolutionary pressures: The framework uses task-driven rewards and environmental constraints to simulate natural selection influencing eye development in AI agents, replicating evolutionary dynamics.
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Task demands shape eye complexity: Different vision tasks lead agents to evolve distinct eye architectures, like compound eyes for spatial awareness and camera-type eyes for detailed object vision, mirroring biological diversity.
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Physical and cognitive constraints limit evolution: The model shows larger brains or sensor arrays don't always improve vision, reflecting resource trade-offs present in natural organisms and influencing evolved eye designs.
Takeaways
MIT's AI-driven evolutionary sandbox advances understanding of vision system evolution and provides practical pathways for designing task-specific sensing technologies.