Cosmism

I've written here before aobut the 'A for Andromeda' scenario ...in which organisms spread through the universe via radio waves - relying on the prior existence of organisms smart enough to construct radio receivers in remote locations

This is in contrast to the more usual scenario - where life spreads via interactions between atoms and matter. If there are enough radio receivers around, spreading via information may be possible. The advantage of spreading via information is that you can spread faster - perhaps at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

Spreading between the stars via information seems reminiscent of a cosmic religion. I propose that we call it "Cosmism".

The viability of cosmism is likely to depend on the age of the universe. In the early universe there will not be enough radio receivers around to make Cosmism viable. However, as the universe ages, more and more radio receivers will appear - making Cosmism more viable. It has been speculated that Cosmism faces a "window" - with smart enough agents developing immunity to Cosmism's message. I think this may under-estimate the attractiveness of Cosmism to the recipients. If there's a window it could be very wide.

If Cosmism is indeed viable, there may be a competitive dynamic between factions that want to spread via atoms and factions that want to spread via radio waves. It could be a significant power struggle. Cosmism may stand accused of giving technolgy to future competitors for resources.

Such resource conflicts are common in nature. A strawberry plant typically faces a choice between growing more leaves, reproducing via runners or reproducing via seed. A seed is not pure information - but it is quite close. This is analogous to: staying on the home planet, propagating to other planets via matter (genes) or propagating to other planets via information (memes).

The spread of Cosmism could also be likened to a pioneer species. Those also travel fast and can survive in inhospitable conditions. Once an ecosystem is mature the pioneer species vanish - but they played their part in initially transforming the ecosystem.