The Free-Market Algorithm (FMA) is a zero-parameter metaheuristic that discovers complex pathways in chemistry and economics through emergent supply-and-demand dynamics.
March 26, 2026
Original Paper
The Free-Market Algorithm: Self-Organizing Optimization for Open-Ended Complex Systems
arXiv · 2603.24559
The Takeaway
Unlike Genetic Algorithms that require a fixed fitness function, FMA uses distributed agents to find solutions in open-ended spaces. It discovered all essential amino acids and nucleobases in 5 minutes and matched professional economic forecasters without being explicitly trained on those domains.
From the abstract
We introduce the Free-Market Algorithm (FMA), a novel metaheuristic inspired by free-market economics. Unlike Genetic Algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Simulated Annealing -- which require prescribed fitness functions and fixed search spaces -- FMA uses distributed supply-and-demand dynamics where fitness is emergent, the search space is open-ended, and solutions take the form of hierarchical pathway networks. Autonomous agents discover rules, trade goods, open and close firms, and co