Joanna Bryson (Computer Science, Bath)

Why Information can be Free: 
The Evolution of Communication and its Impact on Language


Abstract:
This talk will consist of two parts. 

In the first I will present a model of the evolution of an altruistic trait
--- giving away knowledge about how to eat.  This is costly in terms of
opportunities, but nevertheless adaptive in a viscous population because it
increases the carrying capacity of the environment local to the
communicators.

The second half of the talk will discuss the unsupervised evolution of
culture (that is, memetics) and how it may interact with semantic knowledge
in the individual.  This is pure (though informed) speculation, and a great
deal of fun.  I will emphasize theories of language evolution, starting from
the perspective that communication is adaptive, and talk about why so few
species (er, one) have it.