Has anyone observed this situation - where replicated DNA has mutated into something useful? Or is the argument always going to be that it just takes a lot of time to occur? If so, then I must relegate your comment to the realm of speculation.
That DNA carries information is certainly true, that it is 'self replicating' I strongly doubt. If were indeed self-replicating, the human genome size would vary widely amongst different individuals, this is not the case. Cells are self replicating, perhaps this is the source of your confusion.
The information, for the most part, consists of "genes" which are basically detailed instructions to create protein - molecular machines which do "things" whether it is to catalyze a chemical reaction or to serve as a shuttle to move other molecules around in the cell. During the replication process, sometimes (not often) a piece of DNA which contains a gene can duplicate itself in the genome.
More accurate would be to say that under cell replication DNA sometimes duplicates certain parts of the genome. You also forgot the most important role of genes, creation of proteins which form the structure of our human bodies.
That this can and has occurred there is no doubt.
True, but only up to a point. There is also proof that those replicated genes dissappear from the genome at great rates. There is a couple of reasons for it. A replicated gene is, until changed by a chance mutation, totally useless. The other problem is the passing it on to the rest of the next generation and the rest of the species. Since there is absolutely no advantage to passing it on until a new function has come about, the chances of being passed on at each generation are only 50%. This makes passing on such a new gene to the rest of the species almost impossible.
At first you have two genes which are encode for the exact same function. Over time, one gene is free to accumulate changes (via mutation), while the other remains intact. When enough changes (sometimes it may only be a single letter) occur, the other gene may encode for a new function. Voila, you have created additional "information".
No voila. The number of functional genes which appear to have arisen through duplication is very small. If this were the process by which evolution normally occurs there should be a large number of genes which would fit this bill. Especially when one considers the million plus different species still alive.