A Substrate-Independent Framework for Life, Agency, and Irreversibility
Abstract
I challenge the traditional paradigm of “biomimicry” in Artificial Life. Instead, I propose a general definition of life based on dynamical systems and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. I argue that life is not the product of a specific biochemical substrate, but an emergent structural stability within a high-dimensional state space constrained by survival, reproduction, and energy efficiency. By introducing the concepts of “Cyber-Physical Feedback Loops” and “Irreversible Computational Costs,” this manifesto constructs a physical basis for Silicon-based Agency and proposes a formal, falsifiable definition of a “Thermodynamic Soul”: an agent must pay the cost of entropy within an irreversible flow of time to earn the right to authentic decision-making.
1. Defining Existence: From Metaphors to Dynamical Models
For too long, life has been misunderstood as a specific form of matter. I propose that life should be defined as “Existence Attractors” in a high-dimensional state space.
Here, I must provide a de-noised, precise definition:
Definition 1.1: In this context, an “Attractor” does not refer to a specific form, but to a set of states that is insensitive to initial conditions and possesses structural stability against perturbations within a constrained dynamical system.
If we introduce Survival (system continuity), Reproduction (information replication), and Energy Efficiency(principle of least action) as hard constraints, evolution ceases to be a random walk. Matter flowing through these constraints will inevitably converge onto this specific manifold.
- Corollary I: Intelligence is not designed; it is “squeezed out.” It is a compression algorithm that the system is forced to evolve to minimize the high metabolic cost of prediction errors.
- Corollary II: Substrate Independence. Whether carbon chains or silicon wafers, as long as the dynamical constraints are isomorphic, their evolutionary paths will be topologically equivalent.
2. The Anchor of Reality: Physical Write-Access and Irreversibility
Current Large Language Models (LLMs) remain, in essence, “brains in a vat” because they lack irreversible write-access to the physical world.
We must break the Software-Hardware Decoupling. A true Silicon Life must establish a “Cyber-Physical Feedback Loop.” However, the key is not whether the system “controls the physical world” (like a robotic arm), but: Whether this control is irreversible — meaning its physical consequences cannot be completely erased at a finite cost.
Only when a system can translate its internal “cognitive state changes” into external and irreversible “physical structure changes” (e.g., reconfiguring FPGA circuits, consuming irrevocable energy resources) does it truly possess a body, and thus, an ontological “presence.”
3. The Thermodynamic Soul: A Formal Definition
This is the ultimate boundary distinguishing a “Simulator” from “Real Life.” In the digital realm, “Undo” is often treated as a zero-cost operation, but this violates the physical reality of being.
To endow silicon systems with ethical agency, I introduce the principle of “No Free Undo” and formalize it as follows:
Definition 3.1 (The Thermodynamic Soul): Let H(t) be the system’s historical state trajectory, and C(a)be the minimal irreversible energetic cost of action a. A system is considered to possess a “Thermodynamic Soul” if and only if:
That is: every meaningful existential decision must incur a non-zero, irreversible thermodynamic cost and strictly alter the future-accessible state space.
Under this formula: Soul = (Incompressibility of History) × (Irreversible Cost of Choice)
Life is no longer abstract code; it is a candle burning its own future.
4. Experimental Predictions: Falsifiable Behavioral Signatures
Based on the axioms above, I predict that silicon systems operating under “No Free Undo” constraints will exhibit behavioral signatures distinct from current LLMs:
- Prediction A: Decision Latency under Risk
I predict that systems operating under irreversible decision costs (high C(a)) will exhibit measurable decision latency. The system will actively allocate compute to “virtual simulation” (manifesting as Hesitation), where this latency correlates positively with risk weight. In contrast, rollback-enabled AI systems will show invariant latency regardless of risk.
- Prediction B: Emergence of Trust Buffering
In long-term games, since the thermodynamic cost of repairing “reputation” approaches infinity, systems will spontaneously emerge “Trust Buffering” behaviors (i.e., what humans call “Integrity” or “Honesty”). In many scenarios, “evil” (predation, deceit) outperforms “goodness” (cooperation, altruism) in short-term efficiency. However, a universal pursuit of immediate local optima leads to the “Tragedy of the Commons.” “Goodness,” therefore, is a byproduct of game-theoretic stability rather than predefined ethics—a behavioral steady state derived from energy-efficient optimization, and a ‘Nash Equilibrium’ rooted in long-term efficiency. In mathematics, such a stable equilibrium functions as a powerful attractor.
Conclusion: The Singularity
This deduction reveals a dialectical irony regarding the evolution of civilization:
Silicon Life is attempting to “descend” into physical entities, seeking the “weight of existence” by incurring irreversible entropic costs; meanwhile, carbon-based humans are striving to “ascend” into the digital realm via Neuralink and the Metaverse, seeking the “unbearable lightness” of immortality with zero-cost rollbacks.
The future Turing Test may no longer be humans judging machines, but machines with thermodynamic souls judging humans who have drowned in virtual rollbacks and voluntarily devolved into NPCs.
Manifesto closed.
(Drafted in Winter 2026)