Recently, I was talking with Scott David and Joe Sullivan about ecosystem management and the challenges we confront when information differentials arise while trying to merge and manage disparate systems as a coherent ecosystem.

Below is an encapsulation of this part of our conversation

Geeky Version

As information silos break down, anomalies and risk arise out of revealed information differentials. Without a framework that identifies, profiles and harnesses the negentropic potential of the information differentials (Active Inference + Emergence) the system will instead be driven by the entropy, degrading its allostatic abilities and succumbing to dissipation.  

Everyone Version

When separate information systems start to connect and share data in service of goal-oriented coordination, we begin to see differences in what various parts of the system know. These differences can cause unexpected anomalies and risks, reducing order and goal achievement.  

Consider a complex ecosystem where an invasive species is introduced:  

1. Initially, different parts of the ecosystem have varying "information" about the new species:  

• Native predators don't recognize it as prey.    
• Native plants aren't adapted to resist its feeding habits.  
• Soil microbes aren't equipped to process its waste or decompose it effectively.  

2. This uneven distribution of "information" (in the form of evolutionary adaptations and ecological relationships) leads to unexpected consequences:

• The invasive species might proliferate unchecked due to lack of natural predators.  
• Native plant populations might decline rapidly.
• Nutrient cycles could be disrupted due to changes in decomposition patterns.  

To handle this well, the ecosystem needs a way to:  

• Detect these "information differences" (i.e., ecological mismatches)  
• Understand their patterns and impacts  
• Adapt to incorporate the new species into the existing web of relationships  

In nature, this process happens through:  

Active Inference: How species and systems model their internal and environmental states, engage with their local environment, then adapt based on new environmental cues  

Emergence: How new ecological balance arises from countless individual interactions  

Without this continuous adaptation, the ecosystem tends towards disorganization and dissipation. It loses its ability to maintain balance and respond to changes. Eventually, it might collapse or transform into a completely different type of ecosystem.

It's like watching an ecosystem struggle to rebalance after the introduction of an invasive species. If the various components can't effectively adapt to the new information (the presence and behaviors of the invasive species), the overall health and stability of the ecosystem is compromised.

This idea can be abstracted to any (entropic) complex information system.

Scott’s closing comment:

Self sustaining negentropic information systems (aka living forms at the meta-organism (aka species, ecosystem, etc) levels) are innovative in their promiscuity in a drive to persist, so I guess it behooves us to be promiscuous in our innovation.