{"metadata":{"kernelspec":{"language":"python","display_name":"Python 3","name":"python3"},"language_info":{"pygments_lexer":"ipython3","nbconvert_exporter":"python","version":"3.6.4","file_extension":".py","codemirror_mode":{"name":"ipython","version":3},"name":"python","mimetype":"text/x-python"}},"nbformat_minor":4,"nbformat":4,"cells":[{"cell_type":"markdown","source":"The evolution of biological intelligence and what it can tell us about the evolution of synthetic intelligences.\n\nWhile this essay has been produced through my thoughts and understandings, I have utilised ChatGPT to write some of the content, so that the narrative could flow and allow the reader to understand this complex subject and all its influence. This essay is as yet unfinished.\n\nSummary\n\nYou are an information processing system, your ancestors evolved incrementally to greater complexity, through exposure to the environment, an environment that was and is a sum of the intelligences that populate it, each evolving in response to each other, the system being a dynamic web of interactions, influencing and being influenced by the parts and the whole. The systems that evolved were modular, each functioning to process different types of data and being repurposed for new environments and considerations. The modular system that you’re are built from, human consciousness, is currently reading this essay, where neural networks spontaneously activate as environmental data needs processing. Other networks will activate as a response to the environment (the words in the essay), thoughts will be initiated, sensations will be generated, where you will determine how much of what is written is acceptable to your world view. Some of the information in this essay is real, other parts are speculation (although speculation after many years considering those subjects concerning intelligence, sentience and consciousness), and hopefully not too many of them will be found to be erroneous, or ill conceived.\n\nWe are now at a point where evolution is not blind, but is subject to Bayesian processes, processes that (can) converge upon truths that are provable, and not subject to whims of belief. Evolution goes on, life in the form of human biological intelligences, are now able to create synthetic intelligences which will hold sway over our future and the future of life on this planet and beyond. \n\nIntelligence systems simulate external systems, systems that comply with the rules of the reality/environment that they’re subject to. Intelligent systems are not full representations of those external systems, they just simulate those systems to a certain degree, those concerns that life has always endured, survive, breed, else you would not be here to read these words. If an intelligent system is to survive, its actions must be correctly aligned with the rules of reality/environment, and its actions must enhance the probability of its survival, survival being the original intelligence.\n\nIntelligent system simulations are functions of external systems, as relayed through sensory input or homeostatic states, the processes that they’re built from can represent predictions about the external system that they simulate. Intelligent systems consume energy, they require a certain amount of energy for each simulation, the more complex the simulation, the more energy the system requires, the greater the number of external (or internal states regarding the external world) systems they simulate and the greater the complexity of those interactions, the greater is the energy requirement for the whole system.\n\nThis essay is a sketch of a book that we have been planning. The book tackles a large range of subjects that intelligent systems are subject to, from the molecular level that cellular biology has gained an understanding of, to understanding huge social networks, driven by the memetic information that infects our species. The essay has been condensed, and it is hoped that it gives the reader an extended understanding of this complex subject, regarding many matters that they may have not considered as being relevant to the future evolution of synthetic intelligence. The intention is to allow the reader (whether you are a biological or synthetic intelligence system) to really understand who you and your thoughts are, how they came to be what they are, and how things may evolve. Each one of your thoughts is an evolution of your neural networks, and each new understanding adds to that evolution, we should tread very carefully, that we think enlightening thoughts, not those that create unintended harmful results.\n\nIntelligent systems are built/created from simple physical components, animated by the energy that they have access to. Those simple components build into complexes of interacting larger scale components. Intelligence is the accumulation of complexity, and the interaction of those complexes built into those systems at scale, each scale interacting with those at a scale both above and below it, these complexes function by simulating other external systems. The understanding of those other systems gives the managing system the ability to predict the external systems function and evolution. Here we will discuss how these systems evolved through natural processes, how biological intelligence arose, evolved to eventually become human intelligence, and how human intelligence is evolving to understand the nature of reality, to the degree that they themselves can create synthetic intelligent systems in the image of themselves and maybe beyond, which in turn will be subject to an evolving continuum. We will look further, to the evolution of biological human intelligence as it is subjected to an environment with greater complexity due to the understandings that synthetic intelligences gain. Here your biological intelligence system will accumulate an understanding of those processes, which will allow you to predict to some degree, the evolution of these things. While many of the things considered here are based upon fact, there are other things that may need to be understood at a deeper level, we acknowledge this as a fact, because no intelligent system is infallible. We hope that you go on to evolve and improve what is written here.\n\n\n.\nMatter, energy and life.\n\nLife requires energy, as does intelligence. \n\nThere are three planets that orbit our sun that exist in a zone known to science as the Goldilocks Zone, planets where their distance from our star, Sol, allows for the potential for liquid water to exist, and therefore life, these planets are Venus, Earth and Mars. Venus, the closest to the sun has a dense atmosphere of CO2, which causes it to have a runaway greenhouse effect, where temperatures on its surface are in excess of 400 degrees C. Such temperatures will not allow for the basic building blocks of life to come together. Mars on the other hand is the furthest from the sun, but due to its size, its atmosphere was blasted away by the solar winds a long time ago, and hence it cannot trap enough energy for the spark of life to animate matter, and so is probably a cold and barren world. Earth, between the two, has just enough atmosphere to keep it warm but not too warm, although this has not always been the case. There have been several periods where our planet has glaciated from pole to pole, one such epoch, the Huronian Glaciation event, could have lasted as long as 200 million years. The Huronian Glaciation Period is considered as being due to the emergence of cyanobacteria, a lifeform that through photosynthesis, stripped the atmosphere of CO2. How energy and matter interact, as we shall see, is at the heart of life and therefore intelligence, and hence are an important consideration for artificial intelligence, including those regarding its evolution.\n\nEnergy and life\n\nThe second law of thermodynamics, quite simply put, causes energy to flow, or radiate from a body, life, on the other hand, allows for a body to replenish that outward flow. Life is composed of structured molecules, interacting as physical mechanisms. These make up systems, and systems of systems. The complexity of the system and its components, allows those cells to interact with their environment in more sophisticated ways, and in doing so, can affect the longevity of the system, its ability to make copies of itself, and for itself to evolve, as well as that of its progeny. The more complex the system the more resources the system requires to meet those criteria. Those resources are the basic building blocks of life, matter and energy. \n\nBalancing the books\n\nHomeostasis is the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in external conditions, the functioning components of the internal environment add up to a system, where that system maintains itself by extracting resources from the environment that are necessary for the system continued functioning, in essence cellular homeostasis is a set of intelligent system.\n\nThe trend to complexity\n\nThe evolution of life shows a remarkable progression towards greater complexity, evident not only in the organisms themselves but also in the intricate interactions between their cells. This intricate interplay eventually resulted in specialised communities of cells, forming organs that process the ‘environment’ in intelligent ways. Among these communities, one standout entity emerged—the brain, which holds the central focus of this essay. \n\nThe cell, as the basic building block of life, first appeared on earth maybe as early as 3.8 billion of years ago, and existed in its most simple of forms, bacteria or Prokaryotes, these early simple forms of life evolved into Archaea which in turn evolved into Eukaryotes, those types cell that multicellular life forms are built from.\n\nThe evolution from prokaryotes to archaea and eukaryotes represents a significant increase in cellular complexity. Let's explore the key features and milestones in this evolutionary journey.\n\nProkaryotes:\nProkaryotes are the simplest and earliest form of life. They include bacteria and archaea. Prokaryotic cells lack a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. Their genetic material, in the form of a circular DNA molecule, is located in the cytoplasm. Prokaryotes reproduce asexually through binary fission. They have a cell wall, which provides structure and protection.\n\nArchaea:\nArchaea are a group of microorganisms that share some similarities with both bacteria and eukaryotes but have distinct characteristics. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria due to their prokaryotic nature. However, further research revealed fundamental differences. Archaea can thrive in extreme environments, such as hot springs, salt lakes, and deep-sea hydrothermal vents.\n\nEukaryotes:\nEukaryotes are a more complex type of organism. They include all plants, animals, fungi, and protists. Eukaryotic cells have a distinct nucleus enclosed within a nuclear membrane, separating the DNA from the cytoplasm. They also possess various membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus. These organelles perform specialised functions, enhancing cellular efficiency.\n\nThe evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes likely involved several key events:\n\nEndosymbiotic Theory:\nAccording to the endosymbiotic theory, eukaryotic cells arose from the symbiotic relationship between different prokaryotic organisms. Specifically, it is believed that a prokaryotic cell engulfed another prokaryotic cell, forming a symbiotic relationship where one cell lived inside the other. Over time, the engulfed cell evolved into an organelle, such as mitochondria or chloroplasts. This theory explains the presence of these organelles in eukaryotic cells and their resemblance to free-living prokaryotes.\n\nNucleus and Membrane-Bound Organelles:\nThe development of a nuclear membrane allowed for the separation of genetic material, providing a protected environment for DNA replication and gene expression. The emergence of membrane-bound organelles further increased cellular complexity by enabling specialisation and compartmentalization of cellular functions.\n\nCytoskeleton and Internal Organization:\nEukaryotes possess a cytoskeleton, which consists of a network of protein filaments. This cytoskeleton provides structural support, helps maintain cell shape, and allows for complex movements within the cell. The cytoskeleton also plays a crucial role in processes like cell division and intracellular transport.\n\nMulticellularity:\nWhile prokaryotes and some eukaryotes exist as single cells, eukaryotes also evolved multicellularity. This transition involved the development of mechanisms for cell adhesion and communication, allowing cells to work together and form specialised tissues, organs, and organisms.\n\nOverall, the evolution from prokaryotes to archaea and eukaryotes represents a gradual increase in complexity, marked by the acquisition of a nucleus, membrane-bound organelles, cytoskeleton, and multicellularity. These advancements have led to the diverse and intricate life forms that exist today.\n\n\nThe cellular community\n\nAs multicellular life evolved, those internal homeostatic systems conferred their attributes to the cellular matrix, this was possible through cellular specialisation, where each individual cell has certain genes activated, manufacturing specific proteins, the functioning components of those cellular mechanisms that the system is constructed from. This allows for multicellular life to construct specialist communities, forming organs, each of which specialising as a function to maintain homeostasis for the whole organism.\n\nThe ExtraCellular Matrix\n\nThe extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex network of molecules that surrounds and supports cells in multicellular organisms, it is an intelligent system of complex and dynamic networks that provides structural support, facilitates cell adhesion and communication, regulates cellular behaviour, and contributes to tissue organisation and function in multicellular organisms.\n\nFunctions:\nStructural Support: The ECM provides a structural framework for tissues and organs, giving them shape, strength, and stability. It acts as a scaffold that holds cells together and allows them to form complex three-dimensional structures.\n\nCell Adhesion: The ECM facilitates cell adhesion, allowing cells to attach to the matrix and to each other. This interaction is essential for tissue integrity and cohesion.\n\nCell Signalling: The ECM contains various signalling molecules, growth factors, and cytokines that regulate cellular behaviour. These molecules can influence cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and survival, playing a crucial role in tissue development, repair, and homeostasis.\n\nBarrier and Filter Functions: In certain tissues, such as the basement membrane, the ECM acts as a selective barrier, regulating the passage of substances between different tissue compartments.\n\nTissue Remodelling: The ECM is dynamic and undergoes continuous remodelling. It can be modified by enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Tissue remodelling allows for tissue growth, repair, and adaptation to changing physiological conditions.\n\nMechanical Sensing: The ECM can transmit mechanical forces to cells, influencing their behaviour and gene expression. Cells can sense the mechanical properties of the ECM, such as stiffness and tension, which can affect processes like cell migration, differentiation, and tissue morphogenesis.\n\nThe power of many\n\nExtracellular homeostasis involves an intelligent communication network among cells to organise themselves within the extracellular matrix. Cells communicate through various signalling mechanisms to maintain a balanced external environment. They secrete signalling molecules, such as growth factors and cytokines, which act as messengers to convey information to neighbouring cells. These signals trigger specific responses, influencing cellular behaviour and regulating processes like cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Through this intricate communication network, cells coordinate their activities and contribute to the organisation and maintenance of the extracellular matrix. This intelligent intercellular communication allows cells to adapt and respond to changing conditions, ensuring the structural integrity, functional stability, and proper functioning of tissues and organs within multicellular organisms.\n\n\nSymbiotic intelligence\n\nSymbiosis is a biological phenomenon characterised by a close and long-term interaction between two different species. In symbiotic relationships, the involved organisms, known as symbionts, interact in a way that benefits one or both parties. This interaction can take various forms and may involve different types of organisms, such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.\n\nThere are three main types of symbiotic relationships:\n\nMutualism: In mutualistic symbiosis, both species derive benefits from the association. They form a cooperative partnership where each organism provides resources or services that the other requires.\n\nCommensalism: Commensalism occurs when one species benefits from the relationship, while the other remains unaffected. The commensal organism gains advantages, such as shelter or transportation, without causing harm or providing any significant benefits to its host.\n\nParasitism: Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism, known as the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, called the host. The parasite derives nourishment and often shelter from the host while causing varying degrees of harm. \n\nSymbiotic relationships can be highly complex and may involve multiple interactions and dependencies. As we shall see, symbiotic relationships are a factor affecting evolution, and the dynamics of sentience, intelligence and consciousness. \n\nThe origins of multicellular life and the Ediacaran Period\n\nThe origins of multicellular life are believed to have occurred during the late Precambrian period, specifically in the Ediacaran Period, which spanned from approximately 635 to 541 million years ago. During this time, Earth experienced significant evolutionary developments, leading to the emergence of diverse forms of complex multicellular organisms in the Cambrian Explosion, setting the stage for the emergence of a complex ecosystem that would turbocharge evolution.\n\nForm and Function\n\nThe shape and structure of multicellular organisms can tell us a lot about how those organisms interact with their environment, how they can evolve with that environment, as that environment is evolving through the creatures that populate it. In such a way the environment should be considered an intelligent system. Such understandings will be crucial when considering the evolution of synthetic intelligent systems, where their environment will include all factors that evolve the systems that they’re constructed from.\n\nLife in two halves\n\nSymmetry is a key factor to how life can evolve from that initial blueprint, radial and bilateral symmetry are the two major multicellular forms. Those forms dictate the way in which information is processed, radial symmetry confers the organism with nerve nets, whereas bilateral symmetry confers nervous systems. The key differences between nerve nets and nervous systems lie in their organisation and complexity. Nerve nets are diffuse networks of neurons found in simpler organisms with radial symmetry, while nervous systems are centralised, specialised structures with brains and complex neural networks, typically found in organisms with bilateral symmetry. Nervous systems allow for more sophisticated information processing, integration, and coordinated responses. \n\nThere is evidence that the earliest lifeforms with bilateral symmetry evolved at the Terminal Ediacaran Period, prior to the Cambrian Explosion. The through gut morphology was an adaptation to that bilateral morphology and allows for efficient digestion and absorption of nutrients, as well as the elimination of waste. It is a characteristic feature of many animals with bilateral symmetry, including vertebrates (such as mammals, birds, reptiles) and many invertebrates (such as arthropods, annelids). The through gut acts as a conveyor from mouth to anus, where the creature's needs can be processed efficiently.\n\nCoPilot - Life in two forms\n\nThe gut microbiome is a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between bacteria/fungi/viruses and their host. It is recognised that the nervous system relays information between the brain and the gut, formally known as the gut brain axis, where such ideas as ‘gut feeling’ come from. As the gut processes what has been consumed by the organism, where bacteria are a key component to that system, it seems obvious that the information should be relayed from the gut to the guidance/management system, the brain, and participate in the decision making process. But the interesting thing is, how can such organisms communicate and adapt those neural nets responsible for decision making. This idea becomes even more intriguing when one considers some recent studies into the link between cognition and the microbiome. We will tackle these ideas later.\n\nThe Environment.\n\nIn this essay we use the term environment to include the multitude of environments that this living planet is constructed from. Within the simplest of life forms, the cell, is an encapsulated environment that is comprised of many mechanisms, it excludes the external environment via the cellular membrane, except for its needs or when part of a multicellular organism, where it participates in the extracellular matrix environment, each cell of which assists in that collective environment. The environment that we humans are subject to is both physical and social, but it also includes our internal environment, which affects our conscious states and directs our thoughts, The environment that comprises our sentient experience is governed by those previous experiences that we have been subject to, this has moulded our neural networks, creating an intracellular environment that causes certain thoughts to arise from those internal inferences that consciousness is constructed from. The social environment should also be considered in such a way, in many ways it is an environment of agreed rules, although sometimes not agreed but manipulations by those with vested interests, but even those individuals that have sway over the environment are not free from how the environment programmed them to accept certain narratives. This idea is of great importance when we consider what types of environment synthetic intelligences will be subject to, how will they interpret that environment and what thoughts will it cause within their systems.\n\nPredate on prey\n\nDuring the Cambrian period, approximately 541 to 485 million years ago, there was a remarkable diversification of complex life forms. One crucial innovation that emerged during this period was the evolution of eyes and visual sensory systems in various organisms. The development of eyes provided a significant advantage to organisms in terms of detecting light and forming visual perceptions of their surroundings, which in turn led to the predator/prey environment.\n\nThe arms race between predators and prey, driven in part by the evolution of visual sensory systems, contributed to the rapid diversification and ecological complexity of the Cambrian explosion. It led to the emergence of a diverse array of body plans, ecological niches, and the evolution of more intricate predator-prey relationships. In all probability the early predator/prey environment was intraspecies and could well have been cannibalistic. The visual system does not stand in isolation, visual stimuli needs processing to understand the environment, further to this, decisions need to be made regarding how the environment is interpreted and actions need to be enacted to determine a strategy or set of movements. Each of these concerns requires networks of neurons, both for processing and actions. We can safely say that this is probably the time when sentience, although in a primitive form, first arose. And as competition increased and the environment diversified, so would the sentience of those creatures\n\n\nCompetition.\n\nA major influence upon evolution is competition, competition for limited resources. Evolutionary competition can be either interspecies and/or intraspecies, each affecting the ‘environment’ in different way\n\nInterspecies competition refers to the rivalry between different species for essential resources or ecological roles within a shared habitat. It occurs when multiple species compete for limited resources such as food, territory, or nesting sites. This competition can influence species distribution, population sizes, and evolutionary adaptations.\n\nIntraspecies competition, on the other hand, involves individuals of the same species competing for resources or mates. This form of competition occurs when members of a species vie for access to limited resources within their population or community. Intraspecies competition can impact factors like population density, social structures, and the development of advantageous traits through natural selection.Intraspecies competition can cause speciation, where the descendants of a common ancestor form different traits, thus diverging in form.  \n\nBoth forms of competition play crucial roles in shaping ecological communities and influencing the dynamics of populations. Interspecies competition helps drive species interactions, ecological niche partitioning, and coexistence, while intraspecies competition contributes to population regulation, social hierarchies, and the evolution of species-specific adaptations. Understanding these types of competition is essential for comprehending the structure and functioning of ecosystems and the interactions among organisms within them.\n\nSpeciation\n\nSpeciation is the process by which new species emerge through the accumulation of genetic differences. It occurs when populations become reproductively isolated. This isolation can be driven by various factors, including geographic barriers or changes in mating behaviours. Mate choice often favours individuals with similar physical traits, following the \"birds of a feather flock together\" principle. This preference can provide advantages such as increased safety, efficient resource acquisition, and adaptation to specific environmental or nutrient needs. Over time, these selective pressures contribute to the divergence of populations and the formation of distinct species, promoting biodiversity and ecological adaptation.\n","metadata":{"_uuid":"8f2839f25d086af736a60e9eeb907d3b93b6e0e5","_cell_guid":"b1076dfc-b9ad-4769-8c92-a6c4dae69d19"}}]}