Rainey, Paul B (2025) Autogenic transitions in individuality. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Major evolutionary transitions in individuality occur when independently reproducing entities fuse to form a new unit with a shared reproductive fate. Less considered are transitions that originate from within, when an autogenic innovation — a component generated internally within a lineage rather than acquired from outside — becomes a heritable part of a higher-level entity. The emergence of AI and its deepening interdependence with humans make it timely to explore such internal pathways. Three routes can be distinguished: (1) centralised, non-replicating AI that shapes but does not reproduce with humans; (2) replicating AI lineages forming symbioses with humans; and (3) synthetic endosymbioses in which AI becomes a developmentally inherited module. The first alters selection without creating new individuals; the latter two could generate composite lineages in which humans and AI reproduce together. Viewing individuality as capable of arising from within reframes how new Darwinian individuals can emerge across both natural and synthetic domains.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Artificial intelligence – Major Evolutionary Transitions – Individuality – Human-AI symbioses | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence Specific Sciences > Cultural Evolution |
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| Depositing User: | Prof Dr Paul Rainey | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2025 10:49 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 07 Oct 2025 10:49 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 26847 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence Specific Sciences > Cultural Evolution |
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| Date: | 6 October 2025 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26847 |
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