[CarolinaGuitarman]

"Nor do evolutionary algorithms used to design software have anything to do with the evolution of life via natural selection."

Yes they do. They show how a selective program can make seemingly *designed* things.

"They do not prove the thesis of natural selection anymore than using reverse engineering, which applies ID principles, proves ID."

They don't prove it, but they demonstrate it works (they provide evidence for the efficacy of natural selection). Genetic engineering doesn't in any way have a thing to do with ID as proposed by ID'ers. It has nothing to do with the creation of the universe or the evolution of life.

[mjolnir]

So what do you guys think of this? http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/May05/selfrep.ws.html

Will we see "the age of spiritual machines" soon, the way Ray Kurzweil predicts? Will machines usinmg the ability to self-replicate learn how to make themselves evolve? http://livedigital.com/content/145986/u35584 (yeah--- I don't just cartoonishly caricature opposing positions--- I actually like cartoons.

Do you think such machines could attain conscious thought?