Rainey, Paul B (2026) Autogenic transitions in individuality. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Major evolutionary transitions in individuality occur when previously independent entities become components of a new unit whose parts share a reproductive fate. Most discussions focus on transitions arising through the integration of independent lineages. Less attention has been given to transitions originating from within a lineage, when internally generated components become incorporated into the parent–offspring system and inherited as part of a higher-level individual. I refer to such cases as autogenic transitions in individuality. Biological and cultural precedents in which lineages generate novel entities that subsequently influence their own evolution are first examined. In most cases such innovations remain embedded within existing individuals, although transmissible cancers demonstrate that internally generated lineages can also form distinct Darwinian populations. These comparisons clarify the conditions under which internally generated systems might give rise to new evolutionary individuals. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), and its growing entanglement with human development and social organisation, makes it timely to examine such possibilities. Three routes are considered: (1) centralised, non-replicating AI systems that influence human evolution through persistent creation of conditions that cause selection to work at the collective level; (2) replicating AI lineages capable of entering egalitarian associations with humans; (3) AI systems transmitted across generations as components of the human developmental system. The first alters selection without generating reproduction of the composite, whereas the latter two create conditions under which humans and AI could form evolving composite lineages. Autogenic transitions therefore extend evolutionary theory by identifying routes by which new evolutionary individuals may arise when components generated within a lineage become incorporated into systems of reproduction and inheritance, and by helping to recognise plausible transitions that might otherwise be overlooked because such components first appear as subordinate products or tools rather than as candidate parts of a new evolutionary individual.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Rainey, Paul B rainey@evolbio.mpg.de 0000-0003-0879-5795
Keywords:	Artificial intelligence – Major Evolutionary Transitions – Individuality – Human-AI symbioses
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence > AI and Ethics Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence Specific Sciences > Cultural Evolution
Depositing User:	Prof Dr Paul Rainey
Date Deposited:	12 May 2026 14:53
Last Modified:	12 May 2026 14:53
Item ID:	29571
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence > AI and Ethics Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence Specific Sciences > Cultural Evolution
Date:	23 April 2026
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29571

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• Autogenic transitions in individuality. (deposited 24 Apr 2026 12:32)
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