"Life's Intentional Use of Information: A Key Difference from Matter"

Astrophysicist Adam Frank explores the fundamental difference between life and matter, arguing that life intentionally uses information, unlike stars or other physical systems. He and his colleagues estimate that the biosphere moves about 1024 bits/second, significantly more than human efforts, but predict that the technosphere will surpass this by 2113. Frank ponders if this shift marks a threshold for human evolution, but acknowledges the uncertainty of such predictions. The article also addresses the distinction between information and matter, cautioning against overreliance on future projections.