Has AI become indistinguishable from life itself?

May 15, 2023

As a significant new step in the development of AI, considering its transformative power, ChatGPT raises questions about the nature of coming technological evolution: How will artificial intelligence further develop? Will it come to outcompete humans, and if so, how? More than that, we’re led to speculate once again about the potential role of technologies in the evolution of biology or the living world.  

Finding suitable as well as clear-cut definitions of “life” has so far been problematic. For example, viruses do not make the cut with some definitions while they are clearly forms of life. But a strategy that has been very successful and dominant is that of defining life in terms of information. Building on Erwin Schrödinger’s definition of life containing a code-script and on Watson and Crick's discovery of the DNA helix, we entered a geno-centric paradigm in which life was primarily seen as information, with genes as bearers of that information.

Artificial intelligence might well be linked to this information view on life in the sense that it blurs the distinction between biology and technology. AI seems to be going through an evolutionary process, it is also evolving in terms of information bearing and processing qualities. Why not see AI as a next step in biological evolution?

This is an idea that has been explored by many, even by Dan Brown in his popular novel Origin. With the developments surrounding ChatGPT, it is again being voiced by many. For instance, a recent Noema Magazine essay titled “AI is life”, states that “The emergence of artificial intelligences and planetary-scale data and computation can be seen as an evolutionary progression — a biosphere becoming a technosphere.” According to the article, humans are information systems that are not at the top of a hierarchy of information systems anymore.

The problem with this line of thought is that we have often looked at (rather simple, mechanistic reductionist) technology to understand life. The human body has long been understood in a Cartesian way as a machine, steered and directed top-down by the brain, animals are still mostly seen as production vessels for human ends, and microbes tweaked for production are called “cell factories”. The idea of a clear hierarchy of systems is also imposed on the natural world by humans and seems to be limited, considering tendencies of symbiotic interaction and decentralization in biology. As long as we keep projecting our own mechanistic, reductionist ideas on “life” or on biological-technological evolution, we will never be able to fully grasp it. Even if AI can be considered a part in the evolutionary trajectory of biology, it will never be the only part.

While we tend to technomorphize life forms, the question really is how to broaden our understanding of non-human life forms and artificial forms of intelligence, as the author James Bridle helps us to imagine in his book Ways of Being by discussing examples of plant intelligence, animal intelligence and peculiar forms of machine intelligence to complement our ideas about what can mostly be considered “corporate AI”.

Series 'AI Metaphors'

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1. The tool
Category: the object
Humans shape tools.

We make them part of our body while we melt their essence with our intentions. They require some finesse to use but they never fool us or trick us. Humans use tools, tools never use humans.

We are the masters determining their course, integrating them gracefully into the minutiae of our everyday lives. Immovable and unyielding, they remain reliant on our guidance, devoid of desire and intent, they remain exactly where we leave them, their functionality unchanging over time.

We retain the ultimate authority, able to discard them at will or, in today's context, simply power them down. Though they may occasionally foster irritation, largely they stand steadfast, loyal allies in our daily toils.

Thus we place our faith in tools, acknowledging that they are mere reflections of our own capabilities. In them, there is no entity to venerate or fault but ourselves, for they are but inert extensions of our own being, inanimate and steadfast, awaiting our command.
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2. The machine
Category: the object
Unlike a mere tool, the machine does not need the guidance of our hand, operating autonomously through its intricate network of gears and wheels. It achieves feats of motion that surpass the wildest human imaginations, harboring a power reminiscent of a cavalry of horses. Though it demands maintenance to replace broken parts and fix malfunctions, it mostly acts independently, allowing us to retreat and become mere observers to its diligent performance. We interact with it through buttons and handles, guiding its operations with minor adjustments and feedback as it works tirelessly. Embodying relentless purpose, laboring in a cycle of infinite repetition, the machine is a testament to human ingenuity manifested in metal and motion.
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3. The robot
Category: the object
There it stands, propelled by artificial limbs, boasting a torso, a pair of arms, and a lustrous metallic head. It approaches with a deliberate pace, the LED bulbs that mimic eyes fixating on me, inquiring gently if there lies any task within its capacity that it may undertake on my behalf. Whether to rid my living space of dust or to fetch me a chilled beverage, this never complaining attendant stands ready, devoid of grievances and ever-willing to assist. Its presence offers a reservoir of possibilities; a font of information to quell my curiosities, a silent companion in moments of solitude, embodying a spectrum of roles — confidant, servant, companion, and perhaps even a paramour. The modern robot, it seems, transcends categorizations, embracing a myriad of identities in its service to the contemporary individual.
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4. Intelligence
Category: the object
We sit together in a quiet interrogation room. My questions, varied and abundant, flow ceaselessly, weaving from abstract math problems to concrete realities of daily life, a labyrinthine inquiry designed to outsmart the ‘thing’ before me. Yet, with each probe, it responds with humanlike insight, echoing empathy and kindred spirit in its words. As the dialogue deepens, my approach softens, reverence replacing casual engagement as I ponder the appropriate pronoun for this ‘entity’ that seems to transcend its mechanical origin. It is then, in this delicate interplay of exchanging words, that an unprecedented connection takes root that stirs an intense doubt on my side, am I truly having a dia-logos? Do I encounter intelligence in front of me?
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5. The medium
Category: the object
When we cross a landscape by train and look outside, our gaze involuntarily sweeps across the scenery, unable to anchor on any fixed point. Our expression looks dull, and we might appear glassy-eyed, as if our eyes have lost their function. Time passes by. Then our attention diverts to the mobile in hand, and suddenly our eyes light up, energized by the visual cues of short videos, while our thumbs navigate us through the stream of content. The daze transforms, bringing a heady rush of excitement with every swipe, pulling us from a state of meditative trance to a state of eager consumption. But this flow is pierced by the sudden ring of a call, snapping us again to a different kind of focus. We plug in our earbuds, intermittently shutting our eyes, as we withdraw further from the immediate physical space, venturing into a digital auditory world. Moments pass in immersed conversation before we resurface, hanging up and rediscovering the room we've left behind. In this cycle of transitory focus, it is evident that the medium, indeed, is the message.
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6. The artisan
Category: the human
The razor-sharp knife rests effortlessly in one hand, while the other orchestrates with poised assurance, steering clear of the unforgiving edge. The chef moves with liquid grace, with fluid and swift movements the ingredients yield to his expertise. Each gesture flows into the next, guided by intuition honed through countless repetitions. He knows what is necessary, how the ingredients will respond to his hand and which path to follow, but the process is never exactly the same, no dish is ever truly identical. While his technique is impeccable, minute variation and the pursuit of perfection are always in play. Here, in the subtle play of steel and flesh, a master chef crafts not just a dish, but art. We're witnessing an artisan at work.
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About the author(s)

Researcher Julia Rijssenbeek focuses on our relationship to nature, sustainable and technological transitions in the food system, and the geopolitics of our global food sytems. She is currently working on her PhD in philosophy of technology at Wageningen University, investigating how synthetic biology might alter philosophical ideas about nature and the values we hold, as well as what a bio-based future may bring.

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