Redundancy and Species Intelligence Potential

Approximately 70% of the human genome sequence does not encode any traits, and it appears that the absence of these 70% of amino acid sequences would not impact biological survival or trait expression. However, 70% of amino acid structures still hold mutation potential. While a species could persist in an unchanging external environment without these 70% of genes, in the long term, the species’ mutation possibilities and diversity would be significantly reduced. With decreased mutation and competitive survival potential, the species would be more prone to extinction in the face of significant environmental changes due to diminished long-term adaptability and evolutionary potential.

In the continuous evolutionary process of species, redundant sequences may play a critical role. If the evolution of a biological population is viewed as a manifestation of biological intelligence, redundancy can be considered a form of potential intelligence. When extending the concept of redundancy in species’ genetic sequences to other contexts, such as intelligent network structures, the redundancy of an intelligent agent can include redundant information inputs, neuron counts exceeding minimum requirements, and network layers beyond minimum needs. If human organizations, such as societies, cities, villages, or commercial entities, are also defined as intelligent agents, redundant manifestations—such as excess information provided by individuals, idle time of individuals, surplus consumption capacity, or knowledge acquisition beyond organizational needs—can also be seen as expressions of their intelligence potential. Therefore, in evaluating intelligent agents, redundancy should not be viewed as waste; rather, its positive significance to intelligence potential must be considered.