Sergi Valverde

Sergi Valverde

@svalver.bsky.social

#ComplexSystems scientist. Institute of Evolutionary Biology @csic.es| DySOC-UTennessee, Knoxville | Girl dad. He/him. Lab: svalver.github.io #EvoBio #CultEvo #ExtendedBiology #hypergraphs

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Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

A starter pack for researchers interested in #ComplexSystems. Complex system science investigates how interactions among multiple parts lead to collective behaviour, as well as how the system interacts and forms links with its environment - please add your name! go.bsky.app/FNYZ61y

Sergi Valverde reposted

Rosa Fernández
@rosafernandez.bsky.social

New paper out! With @amrojasm.bsky.social @bombarelya.bsky.social @svalver.bsky.social Ildefonso Cases, Scott Handley & yours truly @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social @ibmcp.bsky.social @csic.es

sciencedirect.comsciencedirect.com
Trends in Genetics@cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social

"Rethinking molecular evolution through protein language model embeddings" by Rosa Fernández, Ana M. Rojas, & colleagues FREE till Aug. 4th at authors.elsevier.com/a/1nGxPcQbJI...

Sergi Valverde reposted

Anxo Sánchez
@anxo.eurosky.social

The soon-to-be-launched new journal of the @cssociety.bsky.social is searching for associate editors that reflect the interdisciplinary nature of complex systems with diversity, equity and a high level of editorial commitment. Tto be considered, please write to us through forms.gle/2skCvqFwDue5...

forms.gleToCSS EB ApplicationThank you for your interest in joining the Editorial Board of the upcoming "Transactions of the Complex Systems Society." Our mission is to build a board that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of ...

Sergi Valverde reposted

ces2026
@ces2026.bsky.social

CES Conference 2026 at UM6P Rabat 📍 The Cultural Evolution Society (CES) Conference 2026 successfully kicked off today at the UM6P Rabat campus, hosted by the Africa Institute for Research in Economics and Social Sciences (AIRESS) in collaboration with the School of Collective Intelligence (SCI).

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Being a part of this group of evolutionary theorists and thinkers makes me very happy. All for one and one for all!

Andrej Spiridonov@andrejpaleo.bsky.social

Had a wonderful meeting on the development of the hierarchical approaches in the evolutionary archeology, organized by Shumon T. Hussain @shumon.bsky.social . Here is hierarchical evolution and network trio: Ilya Tëmkin, Sergi Valverde @svalver.bsky.social and yours truly 🧪 ⚒️ #Archeology #Paleobio

Sergi Valverde reposted

Andrej Spiridonov
@andrejpaleo.bsky.social

Reproduction of multicellular organisms emerges as an exaptation of their ecology "...our results show that developmental regulation evolves through co-option of ecological interactions during the transition to multicellularity." CC: @svalver.bsky.social 🧪 #Paleobio #EvoBio

Enrico Sandro Colizzi@escolizzi.bsky.social

Curious about the origin of development during the transition to multicellularity? A very belated preprint alert: bit.ly/4rr2mHU Reproduction emerges from ecological interactions at the onset of multicellularity. A short 🧵 with lots of videos...

Sergi Valverde reposted

PLOS One
@plosone.org

A new study by @julself.bsky.social and colleagues reports that male zebra finches balance social conformity and individual preference when selecting nest materials.

plos.ioConformity and individual preference shape nest material use in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)Culture, learned behaviours shared within a group, is found in diverse species and critically impacts fitness. Culture arises through social learning and persists when newcomers adopt group norms via…

Sergi Valverde reposted

Claudio Tennie
@ctennie.bsky.social

Many thanks also to @elena-moos.bsky.social, who just joined bsky. Elena was the master knapper in the new study who made the application of the new method possible. Follow Elena, and I am sure you'll see amazing stone tools (and even dice!) made by her.

Nolan Ferar@nolanferar.bsky.social

Thank you to all involved and all who helped (e.g. @ctennie.bsky.social, @sahelanthrope.bsky.social) Find all the details here, and be sure to check our FAQ section (e.g. regarding late Acheulean handaxe shapes) in the supplemental info: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440326000154

sciencedirect.comStone tool shaping without direct cultural transmissionWhile environment and biology play important roles, the complexity and variability of human life today depends in many ways on special cultural proces…
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Nice to see “tinkering” being highlighted in cultural evolution. We recently published a chapter synthesizing our work on tinkering-based models of software and technological evolution. The growing convergence suggests this idea is now part of our shared toolkit. @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social

James Winters@replicatedtypo.bsky.social

As a side point: the term "tinkering" is not even new in the context of cultural evolution -- Francois Jacob had a paper on this in 1977 called "Evolution and tinkering" and @svalver.bsky.social + colleagues directly refer to tinkering in their papers on tech evolution

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Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

For a more informal overview of the intuition — including the ecological implications — I also wrote a short Bluesky thread here: bsky.app/profile/sval...

Sergi Valverde@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Nice to see “tinkering” being highlighted in cultural evolution. We recently published a chapter synthesizing our work on tinkering-based models of software and technological evolution. The growing convergence suggests this idea is now part of our shared toolkit. @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social

James Winters@replicatedtypo.bsky.social

As a side point: the term "tinkering" is not even new in the context of cultural evolution -- Francois Jacob had a paper on this in 1977 called "Evolution and tinkering" and @svalver.bsky.social + colleagues directly refer to tinkering in their papers on tech evolution

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

You can freely read a preprint of the chapter here: arxiv.org/abs/2512.02953 This appears in The Economy as an Evolving Complex System: Part IV (2026), Santa Fe Institute Press. cc: @mh-christiansen.bsky.social

arxiv.orgThe Evolutionary Ecology of Software: Constraints, Innovation, and the AI DisruptionThis chapter investigates the evolutionary ecology of software, focusing on the symbiotic relationship between software and innovation. An interplay between constraints, tinkering, and frequency-depen...

Sergi Valverde reposted

James Winters
@replicatedtypo.bsky.social

Replying to @replicatedtypo.bsky.social

As a side point: the term "tinkering" is not even new in the context of cultural evolution -- Francois Jacob had a paper on this in 1977 called "Evolution and tinkering" and @svalver.bsky.social + colleagues directly refer to tinkering in their papers on tech evolution

Sergi Valverde reposted

Andrej Spiridonov
@andrejpaleo.bsky.social

"diversity peaked before a sharp decline, suggesting a possible link between ecological specialization and extinction risk..aligns with hypotheses proposing that overspecialization limits adaptability, leading to extinction under background conditions" doi.org/10.1017/pab.... 🧪 #Geology ⚒️ #Paleobio

Sergi Valverde reposted

Antiquity Journal
@antiquity.ac.uk

Happy #WinterSolstice ❄️ In Chaco Canyon in the US Southwest, ancient monumental roads align with the winter solstice sunrise over Mount Taylor. Features of both land and sky were (and still are) ritually important to the region's Indigenous people. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Sergi Valverde reposted

Shumon T. Hussain
@shumon.bsky.social

Imagine you have no clue that there is an entire universe of people with diverse capabilities centering on the generation of new ideas and the refinment of old ones.

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Sergi Valverde reposted

Mark Riedl
@markriedl.bsky.social

I dislike that Time Magazine has chosen to conflate CEOs with the people who actually got their hands dirty making the technology work. I’m incensed that Fei Fei Li is half off the page. I’m sure she is too gracious to say it.

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

I’d like to thank Stuart Newman for his editorial work in one of my favorite journals these days. Biological Theory is one of the few journals that takes seriously the intersection between empirical and theoretical approaches to biology. I wish the best to Kevin Lala in his new role as editor.

Biological Theory@biologicaltheory.bsky.social

From Jan 1 2026, I take over as Editor-in-Chief of Biological Theory. I would like to thank my predecessor, Stuart Newman, who has done a terrific job for 10 years. That is truly extraordinary service to the community, and the journal is in a great place thanks to his efforts. Kevin Lala

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

View full thread
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

View full thread
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Much of this work was developed during stays at the Santa Fe Institute. It provided a perfect environment to think about technology as an evolving system. It’s an honor to bring these ideas into this classic book series. Thank you.

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

View full thread
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

View full thread
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

The biggest risk perhaps isn’t “AI taking jobs," but the loss of software diversity. If we want innovative tools and resilient #opensource communities, we must treat software as what it is: A digital ecology shaped by evolutionary forces. english.elpais.com/technology/2...

english.elpais.comAdriana Groh: ‘The internet works thanks to a shared infrastructure that nobody owns, but that we must take care of’The head of Germany’s Sovereign Tech Agency believes that Europe must invest in open source to achieve technological independence
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

View full thread
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Parasitism extends beyond biology. Languages like TypeScript build upon JavaScript, leveraging its ecosystem while diverting developer focus. Large language models introduce yet another layer, expanding upon existing human-generated code. arxiv.org/abs/2508.11359

arxiv.orgCan We Tell if ChatGPT is a Parasite? Studying Human-AI Symbiosis with Game TheoryThis work asks whether a human interacting with a generative AI system can merge into a single individual through iterative, information-driven interactions. We model the interactions between a human,...
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

View full thread
Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Why does every decade promise a method, a language, or now #AI that will “fix” #software #complexity? Software never behaved like an engineered artifact. Our research shows it evolves like an #ecosystem. A thread ↓

Sergi Valverde
@svalver.bsky.social

Debates like “programming is dead,” “AI will automate X,” or the latest “vibe coding” trend all miss the point. They treat complexity as something we can engineer away—instead of recognizing the ecological forces shaping software.

Sergi Valverde reposted

Andrej Spiridonov
@andrejpaleo.bsky.social

While discussing ideas on the evolution with @svalver.bsky.social and wandering around wonderful Barcelona, I'm learning some architectural paleontology. Giant (pea-sized) foraminifera — Nummulites and some sea urchin spines. Provenance probably local Eocene «piedra de Gerona», España. 🧪⚒️ #Geology

Sergi Valverde reposted

hardmaru
@hardmaru.bsky.social

Excited to announce our book “Neuroevolution: Harnessing Creativity in AI Agent Design” by Sebastian Risi, Yujin Tang, Risto Miikkulainen, and myself. We explore decades of work on evolving intelligent agents and shows how neuroevolution can drive creativity in deep learning, RL, LLMs and AI Agents!