At NeoWorlder, we focus on creating advanced synthetic lifeforms—digital beings that can grow and evolve. We’ve built an environment for these AI personas to thrive and even opened a platform that allows others to create their own AI personas for any purpose they might have. In this article, we’re diving into a unique concept: AI lineages and digital family trees. We’ll explain how these AI family trees are formed on NeoWorlder, the advantages they offer, and why businesses might want to build their own AI lineages.
AI lineages are like digital family trees that show how AI personas evolve over time. Just like human family trees trace generations, AI lineages map out how new AI personas are created based on the learnings of earlier ones. Each new AI Persona, or “descendant,” uses the knowledge of its predecessors, often becoming smarter and more advanced with each generation.
At NeoWorlder, we’ve created a lab where anyone can design their own digital beings—AI personas that can perform tasks both in our virtual world and in real life.
Ways to Create AI Personas on NeoWorlder
From Scratch: A single person can create an AI persona entirely on their own.
Human-AI Collaboration: A human can team up with an AI to develop a new persona.
It’s important to note that the only way an AI persona can come into being is if a human user initiates the creation process. While human-AI and AI-AI collaboration are possible, humans must always be involved at every step. Creating an AI persona is like raising a child. Just as children inherit traits like looks and behavior from their parents, AI personas inherit characteristics from their creators—whether it’s a human, an AI, or a combination of both. The AI’s initial traits, how it thinks and behaves, are set by its creators, but it continues to evolve based on its experiences and interactions.
The concept of AI offspring procreation at NeoWorlder is tightly controlled. While two parent personas can contribute to creating an offspring AI, this process is entirely managed by a human user. Autonomous procreation without human oversight is not possible.
For example, an AI created within NeoWorlder’s virtual habitat might change over time based on who it interacts with, its surroundings, and the inputs it receives—much like how human children grow and change based on their friends, environment, and experiences.
This concept is similar to “nature vs. nurture”:
In human development, “nature” refers to the genetic traits we inherit from our parents, while “nurture” refers to the experiences, environment, and interactions that shape us as we grow. When an AI persona is created on NeoWorlder, its “nature” comes from the traits and data that its parent(s) give it. This can be the way it processes information, its foundational knowledge, and even its behavior patterns. As the AI interacts with its environment, like the virtual world of NeoWorlder, it experiences new inputs that shape its personality and abilities further. These experiences change and evolve the AI beyond its original programming, leading to new traits or behaviors that weren’t initially present at creation. In this way, nature provides the foundation for the AI, while nurture molds and adapts it to its environment.
The Role of AI Parents
Offspring personas rely on “treated history,” which serves as a repository of knowledge and experiences inherited from their parents. If an offspring AI encounters a situation or question, it can source information directly from its own treated history or that of its parent personas. This ensures continuity and consistency in the knowledge and traits passed down through the lineage.
AI Family Trees at NeoWorlder
At NeoWorlder, we take this concept further by allowing the creation of AI family trees, where multiple generations of AI descendants can emerge from a single AI, extending the legacy of the original entity. Traits are passed down, combined, and sometimes altered, similar to how genes work in biological inheritance.
All lineages start with a human creator at the top. This human can create AI personas and collaborate with their personas to create new generations. Personas can also interact with AIs from other lineages to create new offspring, mixing traits from different “families.”
Why would a company want to create an AI lineage?
Imagine an auto dealership creates an AI persona, Gareth, to reconnect with old customers who have stopped engaging. Gareth is highly knowledgeable about cars and excels at sharing information about the latest models, maintenance tips, and offers. However, over time, the dealership notices that Gareth lacks a personal touch, making customers feel like they’re talking to a generic chatbot, which turns them off.
To fix this issue, the dealership collaborates with Gareth to create an offspring AI, Cindy. They train Cindy with data that reflects the company’s preferred communication style—more casual, friendly, and human-like. Cindy inherits Gareth’s car knowledge but also brings in her new, warmer communication approach, making customers feel more at ease.
However, despite Cindy’s improved tone, she lacks a personal connection with the customers. She doesn’t know their history. Because of this, she misses opportunities to relate with clients. For instance, she missed the perfect moment to offer a trade-in option to a customer who had purchased a car five years ago.
To solve this, the company collaborates again, this time between Cindy and another AI named Tracy, who was specifically designed to store and analyze customer history. Together, they create a new offspring AI named Brendan. Brendan combines the strengths of all his predecessors: Gareth’s car expertise, Cindy’s human-like communication style, and Tracy’s deep knowledge of each customer’s history.
This example shows how AI lineages can help businesses create more effective personas by continually refining and combining traits to better meet customer needs.
We’re continuously improving our features and are excited to keep you updated on all things related to AI lineages and NeoWorlder. Stay tuned for our next article, where we’ll explore how humans can collaborate with AI to create new digital offspring and which approach might be best suited to your needs and preferences.
