Metabiological Evolution

Metabiological evolution is Salk's most original contribution to evolutionary theory: the claim that humanity now operates with three inheritance systems, not one. The first is genetic — the DNA passed from parent to child. The second is cultural — the knowledge, practices, and institutions passed through learning. The third, which Salk named the metabiological, is the conscious shaping of both biological and cultural evolution through the exercise of human intelligence and choice. This third inheritance distinguishes humanity from every other species: only humans can observe their own evolutionary trajectory and make deliberate choices about its direction. The three systems operate at radically different speeds — genetic evolution at the pace of generations, cultural evolution at the pace of ideas, metabiological evolution at whatever speed human decision-making can achieve. The framework makes the AI transition legible as an evolutionary event operating simultaneously on all three levels.