Should we search for non-biological "life"?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of searching for non-biological "life," particularly in the context of astrobiology and the potential existence of extraterrestrial artificial intelligence (AI). Participants explore the implications of defining life, the criteria for detecting AI, and the relationship between biological and non-biological entities.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the search for extraterrestrial life should include the possibility of extraterrestrial AI, alongside biological life.
  • There is a debate about the definition of life, with some arguing that "life" and "biology" are synonymous, while others propose that AI could represent a form of non-biological life.
  • Participants discuss the criteria for defining life, including self-propagation, energy generation, and the ability to pass on information to future generations.
  • Some express uncertainty about what to look for in the search for extraterrestrial AI, questioning whether it would be detectable through radio signals or other forms of radiation.
  • There are references to literature, such as Michio Kaku's "The Future of the Mind," which some believe addresses related topics.
  • Philosophical considerations are raised regarding the nature of consciousness and intelligence in relation to AI and biological life.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the definitions of life and AI, nor on the implications of searching for non-biological life. Multiple competing views remain regarding the nature of life and the criteria for detecting AI.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the definitions of life and AI, as well as the assumptions underlying the criteria for detection. The conversation reflects a range of philosophical and scientific perspectives without resolving these complexities.

  • #31
SciencewithDrJ said:
I am very interested in Astrobiology and just came across this 7-year old abstract by Seth Shostak (of SETI):

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576510002195

There is a lot of emphasis on searching for biological life outside of our solar system, especially with the abundance of "habitable zone exoplanets" discovered by Kepler.

But in view of projections that we will be able to assemble self propagating AI here on Earth in the coming few decades, wouldn't it be possible that our search may well be for extraterrestrial AI in addition to search for biological life? And if so, what would we look for, if not for biochemical signature of life?

Not much. Digital objects are very cheap to maintain, because they don't need to raise their body temperature, they don't need to eat or drink or whatever, all they need is a small amount of electricity, which will go to an extremely efficient and tiny processor. So not very much.

On the plus side however, digital lifeforms cna leave a footprint that biological life can't in space - via magnetic waves. Not that they'd be sizeable enough to notice, but they will exist, unlike biological life in space which will be sealed shut.

Also the idea that digital life would evolve independent of biological is rather, rather unlikely. Metal doesn't magically organize itself into very complicated and dense objects, not to an astronomical probability. So you'll probably find both, or if not both, the sign of the biological life along with the latter.

But as an aside on the AI topic, I would be very cautious, because as well all know, that is not actually Mozart's orchestra playing in the speaker when we play a composition. It is a replica. What I think is extremely likely and scary is that we will create a replica AI, which will behave like a human, but have no internal consciousness, partly because it's not housed in a single celled organism, it's housed on hard drives, in and out of memory, on electrons. Pinpointing the physical location of the AI is problematic enough, designing an actual AI versus a glorified chat bot is going to be the really hard thing.
 
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  • #32
Anon1000 said:
What I think is extremely likely and scary is that we will create a replica AI, which will behave like a human, but have no internal consciousness,

Thank you for the great insight. Wouldn't this AI be able to "modify" its future generations to higher sophistication, so that even though there is no natural mutation as is the case in DNA molecules, it may still self "mutate" by designing and assembling variants of its "ancestral" design?
 
  • #33
Thread closed temporarily for Moderation...
 
  • #34
Thread locked - due to speculation. Please do not "guess" and theorize, use real research based citation with peer reviewed journals if possible