ALIFE & SOCIETY
ABOUT ALIFE & SOCIETY
ALife & Society is an initiative of members of the ALife community interested in addressing current planetary pressing problems from a complex systems perspective, and a diversity of methods from computer simulations to beyond academics participatory strategies, engaged with society in its widest sense.
Our mission is to create a space for the community to explore and take action in how ALife can benefit society by engaging with societal, ecological, and planetary challenges.
Our initiatives
ALifers For Societal Good
The aim for members of this group is to take a more active role in engaging with the grand societal, ecological, and planetary challenges of our time: leveraging ALife's unique blend of methods, tools, and researcher skillsets to collaborate with on-the-ground practitioners and stakeholders.
Virtual Seminar Series
We host the ALife & Society Seminar Series once per month (Monday, PM UTC) where we welcome (informal) presentations and discourse about any work related to this goal in any capacity. Some of our previous topics have included: using various modeling/simulation techniques to fight covid-19, modelling artificial bees for better decision-making in agriculture, permaculture & synthetic ecology, and UK nature restoration strategies.
Annual Special Session @ ALIFE
We regularly host the ALife & Society Special Session at the annual ALife Conference. We aim to host our 8th year of this special session at ALIFE 2024 in Copenhagen.
ISAL Board Position
The ALife & Society group also has a representative chair on the International Society of ALife (ISAL) Board: the Societal Impact Chair.
This position is currently held by Dr. Peter Lewis.