However, this is not a new question. Those responses are not far of the mark. But to be fair, AL is a vast spectrum of ideas and inventions that ingenious ecologists, mathematicians and computer programmers have been conjuring up since the industrial revolution. Computer viruses are one of the very few destructive examples from this spectrum and although we should not take the Frankenstein scenario too lightly it shouldn't keep us from exploring and enjoying what this expanding field has to offer. Some of these ideas have been used to help ecologists solve real biological conundrums.
Life is spontaneous, unpredictable, adaptable.
This is where it starts to get interesting. Its just that the revolution in computer technology and the quality of science fiction writing has given it greater urgency. Before getting lost in a Zen koan, its important to bare in mind that a full definition of life is more than likely a holy Grail. To start, we shouldn't be picky about the substance from which our universal lifeform is made. Terran organic life is primarily composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but to limit ourselves to those building blocks would be to blinker ourselves immensely.