Methods and systems for interactive evolutionary computing (IEC)

A computer-readable medium having computer-readable signals stored thereon that define instructions which, as a result of being executed in a computer system having a processor and a user interface including a display and an input device, instruct the computer system to perform a method of finding a molecule with at least one desired useful characteristic, comprising:

• generating in the processor a set of candidate molecules based on an evolutionary scheme in which an objective function to determine a fitness of a candidate molecule is a priori mathematically unexpressed,
• presenting on the display data based on the set of candidate molecules to at least one user, upon a stopping condition not being satisfied, receiving through the input device at least one input from the at least one user, the at least one input based on the at least one user's evaluation of the presented set of candidate molecules,
• based on the at least one input, using at least the evolutionary scheme and the at least one input to generate in the processor an updated set of candidate molecules, and repeating the presenting, receiving and generating until a stopping condition is satisfied,
• wherein the stopping condition is satisfied upon the molecule with the at least one desired useful characteristic being identified.

A method of finding a molecule with at least one desired useful characteristic, comprising:

• at least one user viewing on a computer system display, data based on a set of candidate molecules, the set of candidate molecules having been generated in the computer system based on an evolutionary scheme in which an objective function to determine a fitness of a candidate molecule is a priori mathematically unexpressed,
• the said at least one user providing through a computer system input device, at least one input, the at least one input based on the said at least one user's evaluation of the viewed data based on the set of candidate molecules, and
• repeating the generating, viewing and providing until a stopping condition is satisfied.
• wherein the stopping condition is satisfied upon the molecule with the at least one desired useful characteristic being identified.