Information-theory perspective

Curt Welch wrote:

Once we build AI with the intelligence to self reproduce, and put them to
work designing and building more AIs for us, the technology will exist to
build replicators to replace DNA, and as Dawkins says, have the potential
to leave us far behind. But our DNA will fight to prevent that from
happening - and only when, and if, it loses that battle, will the other
form of replication when out and replace the DNA replicators.

As I have mentioned, you need to take an information-theory
perspective on these issues. Heritable information "wants"
a reliable, high-fidelity, low cost, compact medium with
good read and write speeds, etc. If it can find those
things, it is quite capable of migrating around - since
information is portable.

DNA itself will not "put up a fight": the *information* is
what is important, and what "wants" to survive.

Just look at chain letters. They have migrated onto
the internet (a whole new physical medium) and blossomed
there - though some of their "genes" have been lost in
the process while others have boomed. This sort of
thing can happen because information is portable.

If you think of a battle between genes and the new
replicators, you have already gone off the rails.
Humans have embraced the new heritable media because
they help their genes reproduce. It is a *symbiosis* -
more than a battle. Sure, one type of replicator will
wind up decreasing, while other types continue to
increase, but at no point is there a dramatic
conflict of interest between the replicators.

IT work is well paid. At each point on the path,
the humans that help the machines will be the ones
with more resources to spend on their own reproduction.
The machine genes are essentially on the same side as
the humans involved in technical work, scientific work,
industry and government.

Of course you /can/ imagine conflict scenarios
(e.g. the infamous grey goo) - but scenarios where
we accidentally lose control are probably not very
realistic.
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