Inheritance (genetic algorithm)

In genetic algorithms, inheritance is the ability of modeled objects to mate, mutate and propagate their problem solving genes to the next generation, in order to produce an evolved solution to a particular problem. The decision of which objects will be inherited from in each successive generation is determined by a fitness function.

The propagation of traits between generations is similar to the inheritance of traits between generations of biological organisms. This process can also be viewed as a form of reinforcement learning, because the evolution of the objects is driven by the passing of traits from successful objects which can be viewed as a reward for their success, thereby promoting beneficial traits.