A game-theoretic approach to the simple coevolutionary algorithm

Abstract

The fundamental distinction between ordinary evolutionary algorithms (EA) and co-evolutionary algorithms lies in the interaction between coevolving entities. We believe that this property is essentially game-theoretic in nature. Using game theory, we describe extensions that allow familiar mixing-matrix and Markov-chain models of EAs to address coevolutionary algorithm dynamics. We then employ concepts from evolutionary game theory to examine design aspects of conventional coevolutionary algorithms that are poorly understood.