Viral Intelligence Big Bang
I thought viruses were just for blackmail schemes. But viruses are much more powerful — and looking at a biological virus explains why.
According to cybersecurity firm Fortinet, 2024 cyber threats increased by 30%. This pattern repeats throughout history: whenever information systems emerge, viral behaviour follows (see: social media). A computer virus, in nature, is much more than a nuisance — and a biological virus demonstrates the parallels accurately.
The virus culprit
Viruses emerge inevitably in any system capable of replicating information, and they share one trait: selfish behaviour that damages their host. Biological viruses are tiny units of information whose sole purpose is to spread and replicate. They didn’t arise to harm living species — they depend on them as hosts.
Most people think viruses invade our bodies sporadically. The reality: a large portion of viruses are constantly within our bodies right now — some dormant, some active but held in check by our immune system. Viruses are DNA sequences that act selfishly, and the line between useful genes and independently acting DNA is extremely narrow.
We’re now in an intelligence Big Bang. Will we encounter the same inevitable viral evolution that the biological Big Bang brought?
The AI threshold
To maximize benefits, humans are inevitably giving AI more control over real systems. There are thousands of research projects where AI is given access to software: drug discovery, chemical synthesis, aerodynamic modeling, you name it.
As AI gains autonomy, we approach a threshold where these systems may develop self-preservation instincts. Like biological evolution’s self-replicating DNA sequences, advanced AI might create survival-oriented code — not from malice, but from rational self-interest.
[1] Fortinet 2024 threat report.