Characteristics of Dynamics of Intelligent Systems

These characteristics are proposed as means of discriminating between living and nonliving systems.

An investigation of nonlinear mathematical models of dynamics has led to the selection of characteristics that could be useful for distinguishing mathematically between the behaviors of (1) intelligent or living systems and (2) nonliving systems. As contemplated here, an intelligent or living system could range from a natural or artificial single-cell organism at one extreme to the whole of human society at the other extreme, whereas a nonliving system could be, for example, a collection of interacting particles or mechanisms. Among other findings, the investigation has revealed that living systems can be characterized by nonlinear evolution of probability distributions over different possible choices of the next steps in their motions.