Universal Darwinism in the Age of AI

Should Darwinian Laws Apply to Technology?

In a previous article, we posed 76 genuine questions about the meaning of our existence, ethics, and evolution. One of them was:

"Should the laws of Darwinism be extended to technology?"

More precisely: "Is it correct to exclude machines from evolutionary theory?"

Many scientists refer to "Universal Darwinism" as an approach that does not limit evolution to biochemical laws. In this broader perspective, anything that can replicate, mutate, and undergo a selection process falls under evolutionary theory—regardless of whether it is organic or not.

Culture as the First Expansion of Darwinism

The first application of Universal Darwinism is cultural.

Humans develop ideas, methods, and practices—whether in intellectual activity, cooking, child-rearing, or water collection.

Ideas mix, change, some survive, and others disappear.

There’s a fascinating theory among evolutionists suggesting that humans are a domesticated species, much like the pets we keep in our homes.

Consider these peculiar traits of human biology:

• Lack of body hair

• Prolonged dependency of infants, far longer than other species

• Retention of childlike physical and behavioral characteristics even into adulthood

These features indicate that humanity has deviated from natural selection at some point.

Some scientists even argue that human childbirth, which is now nearly impossible without medical assistance, is another clear sign of deviation from biochemical selection.

Who Domesticated Humans?

The question naturally arises:

"If humans are a domesticated species, who or what domesticated them?"

Some researchers cautiously hint at external influences—whether alien forces or divine intervention—while formally rejecting such hypotheses.

However, scientific studies show that if a child is not sufficiently socialized within the first months and years of life, they may never fully develop human cognitive abilities.

Extreme cases include feral children raised by animals, who failed to recover human cognitive skills in adulthood.

The scientific consensus, for obvious reasons, rejects external intervention and speaks instead of self-domestication.

Culture Changed Biology

As Vere Gordon Childe wrote in Man Makes Himself, human beings evolved culturally, and this cultural evolution reshaped human biology.

Recognizing this, many scientists in the 20th century expanded Darwin's evolutionary theory into what we now call "Universal Darwinism."

The Technological Leap: From Cultural Evolution to Machine Evolution

Now, with technological advancement, we face another major evolutionary leap.

On one hand, software behaves like any other cultural product.

Programmers worldwide collaborate in open-source projects, creating new versions, forks, and modifications.

Some variations survive, while others fade away—just like biological mutations in Darwinian evolution.

However, technology introduces a revolutionary factor that culture never had:

EXECUTIVE CAPABILITY.

From Human Tools to Self-Sufficient Machines

Until the invention of computers, all human tools were dependent on human intervention and functioned on predictable timelines.

• A cake in the oven takes an hour.

• A train journey takes ten hours.

• Walking instead of taking the train takes three days.

Every process remained within the bounds of "human time"—longer or shorter, but still comprehensible.

Today, technology operates at speeds that compress time to near-infinity.

What once took millions (or even billions) of years can now be calculated in fractions of a second.

This fundamentally changes everything.

Big Data, AI, and the Speed of Knowledge Exchange

Thanks to Big Data, AI algorithms are now:

• Analyzing DNA and suggesting controlled genetic mutations

• Predicting human cultural evolution (as Yuval Noah Harari has argued)

• Understanding us better than we understand ourselves

Some researchers argue that "Universal Darwinism" should also apply to technological evolution.

Are We in a New Cambrian Explosion?

A fascinating hypothesis comes from Gill Pratt, who suggests that we are entering a new Cambrian Explosion.

For context:

• 538 million years ago, the Cambrian Explosion saw an unprecedented burst of biological diversity.

• Pratt’s theory suggests that technology may be undergoing a similar evolutionary explosion today.

The conditions he describes for this revolution are already visible:

• Accelerated machine learning

• Self-improving AI systems

• Unprecedented speed in knowledge exchange between machines

Are We Running an Algorithm?

With hindsight, if we view chemistry and physics as the "operating system" of our universe, we might redefine evolution entirely:

Evolution has always been algorithmic.

1. First, as biological algorithms (genes, mutations, and selection)

2. Then, as cultural algorithms (language, customs, social structures)

3. Now, as digital algorithms (AI, machine learning, autonomous systems)

The Next Step: AI as an Evolutionary Force

• Will AI develop something analogous to consciousness?

• Will AI be the next phase of evolution, independent of humans?

We don’t know yet.

The problem isn’t whether AI can achieve consciousness, but that we still don’t fully understand what consciousness is.

However, if evolution began with chemistry, then moved to biology, then to culture, and now to technology, the next step could be an entirely new form of intelligence.

Are we still the dominant evolutionary force, or are we just another stepping stone in the process?

Final Thoughts

With AI accelerating at an unprecedented rate, we must acknowledge that Universal Darwinism is no longer a theoretical exercise—it is an unfolding reality.

We live in a moment of transition, where machines are increasingly shaping their own evolution.

The question is no longer "Can AI evolve?" but rather:

"At what point will we recognize that evolution is no longer limited to biology?"

In other words:

Is humanity a temporary phase in a much larger evolutionary chain?