Vivarium

I joined Apple Computer to work for Alan Kay and Ann Marion's Vivarium Program, and was fortunate to be involved with that talented and dedicated group for about four years. Since its inception, the Vivarium Program has had the idea of a computational ecology at its center. Most of its applications at Apple were targeted at exploring user interface issues and improving the educational process, by providing sophisticated, yet easy-to-use simulation systems for children, plus the attendant computer and network support for classrooms and teachers. My own interests in how mind and intelligence work, coupled with Alan and Ann's support of my studies in neural networks and Artificial Life, led me to explore this computational ecology theme more as a scientific research project in the evolution of neural network-based behavior (Polyworld).

While with the Vivarium Program, I prepared this paper and talk on the origins and history of Vivarium, for a conference on user interface in Tokyo.