Thanks for the links! I am looking at their GitHub repos now. I am getting into coding and artificial intelligence myself, and although I am not pursuing it as a career path, I still find it very interesting. But I do know from biology that there are 7 characteristics of life as we know it (
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~klathrop/7characterisitcs_of_life.htm ).
They are: 1. Composed of cells 2. Different levels of organization 3. Use energy 4. Response to stimuli 5. Grow 6. Reproduce 7. Adapt
Viruses are an exception to this of course, as they are not composed of cells. But since this program is actually trying to create it in a computer, I suppose if they succeeded then it would be considered alive. The biggest hurdle I see is creating 3D cells, but I didn't read the site all the way yet so I'm not sure what their plan is regarding this.
This is a bigger milestone than most people think. I find it fascinating that animalistic traits and habits can be emulated with computer code. I once read a trip report on the Nexus about a person who saw a bunch of artificially intelligent robots working in some spaceship. They knew that the person was there and slightly acknowledged him/her, but otherwise they tended to their business.
Mastering the ability to have machines act intelligently is one of the next big steps in consciousness in my opinion. I don't think they will overtake us; I foresee that we will be able to work together to see a better life for man and machine.
"Think for yourself and question authority." - Leary
"To step out of ideology - it hurts. It's a painful experience. You must force yourself to do it." - Žižek