New Scientist has an interesting article suggesting that beyond genes and memes, that information in computers, the “Ghost in the Machine” if you will is now a replicator. Pointing to the way that software is now able to act in an autonomous manner without the aid of a human, and often the I/O for one system isn’t even for human consumption, rather for another computer.
It is an interesting idea – genes act through interacting elements at the molecular and cellular level to the point that they “explode” and are able to create systems that handle memes. Meme systems are able to interact and out complete, remix and replicate just as genes can, but what about this new thing? Demes, let’s call them (if it sticks, I said it first), digital genes, are a product of genes and memes it would seem. Or are they?
At first I would think that demes are just an extension of memes, but the fact is that they have a separate carrier, and it just so happens that memes can be carried along with demes, but there are agents out there that cannot process the meme (they might try), but they can process the deme and depending on where the output goes, other agents, human or electronic can then take action. For instance, I am promoting certain memes with this blog, but it is sending out a feed that a machine can read and then analyze. That system could then say feed into another that is looking for a trend, that if spotted will increase the production of some item, all without any human memetic input beyond the initial data. If instead of a human entering information (memes), a sensor was doing the same thing (think RFID tags), then the entire process is demetic. Many big box stores are doing this now – items are purchased online or in store, inventoried are updated, new orders are placed and production is adapted to meet those orders with little if any outside input. The only thing that humans need to supply is raw material (stop thinking Matrix), but even than will soon happen in a demetic sense as we extend our reach to other worlds and resource exploration and extraction becomes automated.
Interesting ideas… and certainly something interesting to think about as we continually enter a brave new world.
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