# Continual Evolution Strategies in Control Tasks

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.13600 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.13600/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 20 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 3 Aug 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting in neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00796/) (2016)
- [Gradient Episodic Memory for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.08840/) (2017)
- [Continual Lifelong Learning with Neural Networks: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.07569/) (2018)
- [Experience Replay for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.11682/) (2018)
- [Evolution Strategies as a Scalable Alternative to Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.03864/) (2017)
- [Class-incremental learning: survey and performance evaluation on image classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.15277/) (2020)
- [Towards Continual Reinforcement Learning: A Review and Perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.13490/) (2020)
- [Continual Learning for Robotics: Definition, Framework, Learning Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.00182/) (2019)
- [Replay in Deep Learning: Current Approaches and Missing Biological Elements](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.04132/) (2021)
- [Achieving Deep Continual Learning via Evolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.06210/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Continual Reinforcement Learning with Neuroevolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.01583/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We study Evolution Strategies (ES) for continual control, where agents must adapt to changing tasks without forgetting previous ones. On sequential MuJoCo locomotion tasks, naive ES suffers from severe catastrophic forgetting. Replay substantially improves retention and can induce positive transfer, while larger replay budgets reduce plasticity. Overall, these results show that ES can support continual adaptation in control and that replay is an effective mechanism for mitigating forgetting.