Very interesting. I guess most programmers have wondered about the possibility of this at some point, I know I have.
The main problem that occurred to me was creating a complex enough environment to make sensory input useful to the algorithm, which is the problem I think you've encountered. Additionally the AI may need a matching complexity in it's interactions (or influence) with it's environment.
Yes. Exactly.
Quote:
After all, in the natural world you have to get all the way up to very complex multi-celled organisms before you even get light sensitive skin patches.
Well, I would say that with HW power big enough, you should in theory be able to reconstruct the whole evolution.
The really tricky part is how to cheat and what to exclude