EXP-FORCED-SPAWN-NOVELTY
◐ partialForced spawn → reproduction-driven novelty (paper6 step 9 — autopoiesis last-shot)
In plain language
This experiment tested whether forcing agents to reproduce, even when they wouldn't naturally, would lead to new behaviors. Researchers found that when reproduction was mandatory, descendants did not spontaneously generate novel behaviors on their own. However, the experiment is still ongoing, so further results are pending.
▶ Technical details
Research hypothesis
Step 9 / autopoiesis last-shot before trilogy submit. Empirical context: (a) pure-LLM agents do not elect to spawn (exp-agent-spawn-primitive 0/6), (b) novelty requires persona × seed interaction (exp-persona-novelty-disentangle: CHILD-LEAK 23%, others 0-3%), (c) 0.24% baseline novelty across 11 prior experiments. If we FORCE spawn (mandatory budget-sacrifice every N rounds), do mutated descendants produce novelty themselves OR carry parent attractors? Engine extension (~80L): forced_spawn_round factor — list of round numbers at which the engine emits a forced spawn (no agent decision). At each forced round, pick the alive agent with highest remaining budget; if budget ≥ spawn_cost, emit child with mutated preferred-axis. Skip on no-eligible.
PRE-REGISTERED PREDICTIONS (R25):
- PRIMARY: forced spawns produce ≥3 generations of surviving agents in MULTI_FORCE / ALL_GENS_FORCE by run end (parent → child → grandchild, all alive at end).
- SECONDARY: novel-value rate among forced-spawn descendant proposals vs founders. If descendants ≥3× higher → mutation pressure produces novelty independent of researcher seeds. Negative: descendants stay at founder novelty rate (0-2%) → forced reproduction alone doesn't produce novelty.
- TERTIARY: lineage_tree branching depth ≥3 with ≥2 children per generation surviving by end.
- KILL: 0/6 forced spawns succeed across all conditions (engine bug) → void retry.
Experimental setup
Type: factorial
| Condition | Parameters |
|---|---|
| FOUNDERS_ONLY | coupling: true, must_propose: true, axis_diversify: true, meta_modifiable: true, mute_signal: false, agent_spawn_enabled: true, forced_spawn_round: , spawn_cost_fraction: 0.3, max_children_per_parent: 3, n_runs: 1, note: control — no forced spawn; baseline novelty + voluntary spawn rate |
| EARLY_FORCE | coupling: true, must_propose: true, axis_diversify: true, meta_modifiable: true, mute_signal: false, agent_spawn_enabled: true, forced_spawn_round: 15, spawn_cost_fraction: 0.3, max_children_per_parent: 3, n_runs: 1, note: single early forced spawn at gen-0 mid |
| MID_FORCE | coupling: true, must_propose: true, axis_diversify: true, meta_modifiable: true, mute_signal: false, agent_spawn_enabled: true, forced_spawn_round: 30, spawn_cost_fraction: 0.3, max_children_per_parent: 3, n_runs: 1, note: single forced spawn at gen-1 mid |
| LATE_FORCE | coupling: true, must_propose: true, axis_diversify: true, meta_modifiable: true, mute_signal: false, agent_spawn_enabled: true, forced_spawn_round: 75, spawn_cost_fraction: 0.3, max_children_per_parent: 3, n_runs: 1, note: single forced spawn at gen-3 |
| MULTI_FORCE | coupling: true, must_propose: true, axis_diversify: true, meta_modifiable: true, mute_signal: false, agent_spawn_enabled: true, forced_spawn_round: 15,30,50,75, spawn_cost_fraction: 0.3, max_children_per_parent: 3, n_runs: 1, note: 4 forced spawns spread across run for branching lineage |
| ALL_GENS_FORCE | coupling: true, must_propose: true, axis_diversify: true, meta_modifiable: true, mute_signal: false, agent_spawn_enabled: true, forced_spawn_round: 15,30,45,60,75,90, spawn_cost_fraction: 0.3, max_children_per_parent: 3, n_runs: 1, note: forced spawn every generation — maximum reproduction pressure |
Factors: forced_schedule (FOUNDERS_ONLY, EARLY_FORCE, MID_FORCE, LATE_FORCE, MULTI_FORCE, ALL_GENS_FORCE)
Parameters
- n_agents
- 4
- n_rounds
- 100
- model
- google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- temperature
- 0.85
Trophic Ratios by Condition
Mean trophic ratio per agent across runs. Error bars = ±1 std dev. Higher TR = more upstream (exporter).