# Machines May Direct Their Own Evolution by Martin Rees > “Future evolution may be dominated by electronic entities of some kind, which will be our progeny, our descendants. That evolution will not be Darwinian; it will be what I like to call secular intelligent design—machines designing better machines. Those machines would have far greater capabilities. Whether they would have consciousness and comprehension, we don’t know.” > **— Martin Rees**, *Martin Rees: Are we on the cusp of a different evolution?, The Naked Scientists, 2023* ## Sources and Context - **Direct publication and full context:** [Martin Rees: Are we on the cusp of a different evolution?](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/martin-rees-life-elsewhere-universe) — The linked publication contains the quoted passage and its surrounding argument. - **Master research record:** [[research/Martin Rees on Machine Succession, Post-Human Intelligence, and the Cosmic Future|Martin Rees on Machine Succession, Post-Human Intelligence, and the Cosmic Future]] — preserves this object inside the open Martin Rees source dossier. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|We Were Never Going to Make It]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Martin Rees|Martin Rees]] - [[wiki/Technological Evolution|Technological Evolution]] - [[wiki/Superintelligence as Force Majeure|Superintelligence as Force Majeure]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Future evolution may be dominated by electronic entities of some kind, which will be our progeny, our descendants. That evolution will not be Darwinian; it will be what I like to call secular intelligent design—machines designing better machines. Those machines would have far greater capabilities. Whether they would have consciousness and comprehension, we don’t know.” — Martin Rees, Martin Rees: Are we on the cusp of a different evolution?, The Naked Scientists, 2023 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-martin-rees-machines-direct-own-evolution ```