A digital ecosystem is a kind of universe, realized in
electronic media, in which we observe incremental evolution and
complex interaction. The classic examples come from work in
Artificial Life, such as Tom Ray'sTierra project in which
strings of code compete for resources, such as CPU time, and in
which cascades of strategies for success develop, with later
ones exploiting the weaknesses and loopholes of their
predecessors. But the idea is much broader. The worldwide web
and browser technologies have combined to create a massive
digital ecosystem populated by ideas and product descriptions,
whose true impact on the human lifestyle is only just beginning
to be felt. The human mind was never contained in the head, and
has always been a construct involving head, artifacts (such as
pen and paper), and webs of communication and interaction. We
make our worlds smart so that brains like ours can be dumb in
peace. But the development of web and internet technologies may
well signal the next great leap in the evolut