Algorithmicity of Evolutionary Algorithms

Abstract

In the first part of our article we will refer the penetration of scientific terms into colloquial language, focusing on the sense in which the concept of an algorithm currently functions outside its original scope. The given examples will refer mostly to disciplines not directly related to computer science and to the colloquial language. In the next part we will also discuss the modifications made to the meaning of the term algorithm and how this concept is now understood in computer science. Finally, we will discuss the problem of algorithmicity of evolutionary algorithms, i.e. we will try to answer the question whether – and to what extent – they are still algorithms in the classical sense.

Keywords

• algorithm
• algorithmicity
• evolutionary algorithms
• scientific term
• philosophy of informatics