I've heard a similar story about small self driving cars.
The cars would drive around using a random algorithm, then copy and tweak the algorithm of the longest running car when they crashed. The researcher left the room to let the cars work, only to come back and find that each of the cars had deduced that the perfect solution was to remain perfectly still. After all, if they didn't move, they couldn't crash!
That's the story story of a game-learning program that found the best way to "not lose" at tetris was to pause right before a brick extended above the top of the level, and leave it paused indefinitely.
The cars would drive around using a random algorithm, then copy and tweak the algorithm of the longest running car when they crashed. The researcher left the room to let the cars work, only to come back and find that each of the cars had deduced that the perfect solution was to remain perfectly still. After all, if they didn't move, they couldn't crash!