# Spore in the Wild: A Case Study of Spore.fun as an Open-Environment Evolution Experiment with Sovereign AI Agents on TEE-Secured Blockchains

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04236 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.04236/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 15 of its 56 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 24 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 15 of 15)

- [The Rise and Potential of Large Language Model Based Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.07864/) (2023)
- [Multi-Agent Risks from Advanced AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.14143/) (2025)
- [Liquid Time-constant Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.04439/) (2020)
- [AI Research Considerations for Human Existential Safety (ARCHES)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.04948/) (2020)
- [Real AI Agents with Fake Memories: Fatal Context Manipulation Attacks on Web3 Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.16248/) (2025)
- [Quantifying Blockchain Extractable Value: How dark is the forest?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.05511/) (2021)
- [Token Spammers, Rug Pulls, and SniperBots: An Analysis of the Ecosystem of Tokens in Ethereum and in the Binance Smart Chain (BNB)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.08202/) (2022)
- [Eliza: A Web3 friendly AI Agent Operating System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.06781/) (2025)
- [A Survey on Blockchain Interoperability: Past, Present, and Future Trends](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14282/) (2020)
- [An Overview of Open-Ended Evolution: Editorial Introduction to the Open-Ended Evolution II Special Issue](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.04430/) (2019)
- [Trustless Autonomy: Understanding Motivations, Benefits, and Governance Dilemmas in Self-Sovereign Decentralized AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.09757/) (2025)
- [A Survey of Secure Computation Using Trusted Execution Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.12150/) (2023)
- [The Philosophic Turn for AI Agents: Replacing centralized digital rhetoric with decentralized truth-seeking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.18601/) (2025)
- [Evolved Open-Endedness in Cultural Evolution: A New Dimension in Open-Ended Evolution Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.13050/) (2022)
- [Privacy-Preserving Decentralized AI with Confidential Computing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.13752/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Dissociative Identity: Language Model Agents Lack Grounding for Reputation Mechanisms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.30169/) (2026)
- [Conversable Complexity: Agentic LLM Collectives as Interpretable Substrates](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.01047/) (2026)
- [Is Decentralized AI Governable? From Regulative Policy to Constitutive Protocol](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.24538/) (2026)
- [Internalising the Identity Primitive: Cryptographic Individuality for an Autonomous Agent on a Public Blockchain](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.02986/) (2026)
- [Agent Inheritance Protocol: Speculating on Feralized Agents After Principals Die](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.15403/) (2026)
- [Afterlife Delegation Protocol: Speculative Design of Self-Sovereign Agents that Outlive Their Principals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.15405/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In Artificial Life (ALife) research, replicating Open-Ended Evolution (OEE)-the continuous emergence of novelty observed in biological life-has usually been pursued within isolated, closed system simulations, such as Tierra and Avida, which have typically plateaued after an initial burst of novelty, failing to achieve sustained OEE. Scholars suggest that OEE requires an open-environment system that continually exchanges information or energy with its environment. A recent technological innovation in Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), which provides permissionless computational substrates, enables the deployment of Large Language Model-based AI agents on blockchains integrated with Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). This enables on-chain agents to operate autonomously "in the wild," achieving self-sovereignty without human oversight. These agents can control their own social media accounts and cryptocurrency wallets, allowing them to interact directly with blockchain-based financial networks and broader human social media. Building on this new paradigm of on-chain agents, Spore.fun is a recent real-world AI evolution experiment that enables autonomous breeding and evolution of new on-chain agents. This paper presents a detailed case study of Spore.fun, examining agent behaviors and their evolutionary trajectories through digital ethology. We aim to spark discussion about whether open-environment ALife systems "in the wild," based on permissionless computational substrates and driven by economic incentives to interact with their environment, could finally achieve the long-sought goal of OEE.