Intelligence is not exclusively a property of organic life. While organic carbon-based life forms – like humans – are the most familiar intelligent creatures, scientists believe that intelligence could potentially exist in other substrates.

We have already created AI systems that can perform complex tasks and exhibit intelligent behaviours.

Some scientists have proposed that silicon could potentially form the basis for alien life forms, as it has some chemical similarities to carbon. There are hypothetical types of biochemistry that could potentially support life and intelligence using different chemical elements or compounds as a basis. These include ammonia-based life, arsenic-based life, and others.

Some researchers have even proposed more unusual forms of potential intelligence, such as life-based on magnetic structures inside stars or dust particles in plasma. We suggest a wonderful Wikipedia article, “Hypothetical Types of Biochemistry,” to learn more.

Life on Earth has been found in extreme environments previously thought uninhabitable. This suggests that intelligence could potentially arise in a wider range of conditions than we initially assumed – read this article.

Finally, research into creating synthetic life forms could potentially lead to new types of intelligent entities that blur the line between organic and inorganic. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) considers the possibility of non-organic intelligent life, and ongoing research in AI and synthetic biology continues to explore new frontiers in this area.

Mum in the first book of the Romy and Roby series reminds her family of Max Tegmark’s definition of life. According to him, life is information processing.

It is important to keep an open mind about the potential for other forms of intelligence to exist or be created. This goes together with considering the ethical implications of how humans might treat such life forms.