Genetic algorithms (and other evolutionary algorithms) aren't necessarily complex nor slow.  They could get faster and better results than traditional algorithms.  And, best of all, you don't have to understand your problem domain to use them.<p>This last point is very important.  You could just throw an EA at a problem without understanding it at all.  Just give the EA the task with some variables to optimize and it'll come up with solutions.<p>You do have to come up with an automated way of judging which solution is best, but that's usually much easier than understanding the problem domain well enough to model it with a traditional technique.<p>Take a look at Monica Anderson's talks below for a high-level overview of some of the advantages of using EA's and other "model-free methods":<p><a href="http://videos.syntience.com/" rel="nofollow">http://videos.syntience.com/</a>