Roger L. Costello wrote:

> The ability of a system to dynamically adapt and evolve to support
> capabilities that were never imagined by the system designers ... ah, now
> that's what I want out of a system!
>  

Ah, so it's adaptation you had in mind?  This brings the matter closer 
to biological evolution, and farther from the various metaphorical 
extensions (sorry!) of the word.

This brings up two threads in my mind -

1) Adaptation to *what*?  In the biological world, "what" is primarily 
the local environment, which includes other species.  What is a system 
supposed adapt to in Roger's scenarios (which we don't know yet)?

2) *Who* or *what* is supposed to do the adapting?  Software developers 
or the software systems themselves?

Dollars to doughnuts, Roger is interested in an interacting society of 
autonymous agents, and is thinking about the agents changing their 
behavior during the course of their existence, or perhaps over a series 
of instantiations.  Right, Roger?

I think it is time for Roger to (re)read Isaac Asimov's various stories 
that involve his three laws of robotics!

Cheers,

Tom P