I-Brain, Ghent, Belgium. 22 November 2014
Abstract
All creativity in the universe comes about through the processes of evolution, not just biological evolution based on genes as the replicator, but cultural evolution based on memes. We humans think we consciously design art, scientific theories and technologies but really we are meme machines, adopting and recombining old memes to make new ones. And what comes next? There may be a third replicator in our midst; digital information in the cloud. This rapidly growing intelligent creature is using us to propagate itself beyond far beyond our control.