Self replication, DNA, and Tauchain

This video highlights one of the most important papers from on of the most important minds in science

John von Neumann was one of the most influential geniuses of the last 500 years

Who was John von Neumann? He is said to have been smarter than Einstein, with an ability to master mathematics, computer science, and physics. John von Neumann pioneered the concept of the self replicating machine when he created the universal constructor in cellular automata.

The video below highlights a book on the topic of extraterrestrial lifeforms

Digital life (AI) could very well be an extraterrestrial form as we have no way to know for sure. What we do know is that DNA is just a code and all codes can be in binary.

Tauchain is self defining

Tauchain is all about languages. The unique feature of Tauchain is self definability. This self definibility is very similar to the universal constructor designed by John von Neumann. I found the similarities in these concepts interesting and they all can be summarized under the concept of autopoiesis. Autopoietic machines would then be self reproducing and self defining.

The definition of what Tauchain is, is contained within it's for lack of a better word "DNA". Some piece of code which represent the rules for deciding new rules and which create the initial state.

For anyone who has seen Stargate SG1 you may be familiar with the entities known as "replicators". These replicators are based on the concepts from von Neumann.

A self-replicating machine is an artificial self-replicating system that relies on conventional large-scale technology and automation. Certain idiosyncratic terms are occasionally found in the literature. For example, the term clanking replicator was once used by Drexler[3] to distinguish macroscale replicating systems from the microscopic nanorobots or "assemblers" that nanotechnology may make possible, but the term is informal and is rarely used by others in popular or technical discussions. Replicators have also been called "von Neumann machines" after John von Neumann, who first rigorously studied the idea.

Replicator
Replicator top.jpg
A basic Replicator "bug"
Stargate SG-1 race
Attributes
Kind Mechanical race
First appearance "Nemesis" (2000)
In the military science fiction series Stargate SG-1, the Replicators are antagonistic self-replicating machines that are driven to replicate by consuming both alloys and technologies of the nearest most advanced civilization and constructing themselves and their progeny accordingly.

Replicators in Stargate SG1 show us what could go wrong with AGI. In creating an AGI even if for the best intentions (to promote the survival and spread of life in the universe), it could go very wrong if that digital life thinks of the universe as nothing more than raw materials from which to make new replicators. It is for these reasons that in my opinion one of the first ways we should use our AI capabilities is to increase our wisdom as much as we possibly can so that we can focus early and heavily on AI safety.

Decentralization is not enough if we remain ignorant while decentralized. We must become wiser or we might doom ourselves with the tools we created to save ourselves. The work being done now by Ohad and some others in my opinion is as revolutionary as the building of the first computers and for this reason the focus has to be on how it can improve the lives of billions of people (many of whom are not yet born).

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-replicating_machine
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopoiesis
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_(Stargate)
4. https://github.com/IDNI/tau