What are Artificial Immune Systems?
Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) is a diverse area of research that attempts to bridge the divide between immunology and engineering and are developed through the application of techniques such as mathematical and computational modeling of immunology, abstraction from those models into algorithm (and system) design and implementation in the context of engineering. AIS has become known as an area of computer science and engineering that uses immune system metaphors for the creation of novel solutions to problems. Whilst this forms the majority view, AIS is now much wider and is not confined to the development of new algorithms. In a recent paper, immunologist Irun Cohen defines three types of AIS scientists. The first are those of the literal school that build systems in silico to try and do what the actual immune system does (e.g. build computer security systems that discriminate between self and non-self); those of the metaphorical school that look for inspiration from the immune syste
