Systems learn and change. Programs don't, except when compelled systemically. Servo-mechanisms , a method for using information from a feedback loop to automatically change a process to keep it within predetermined limits. Typically consists of a sensor, an amplifier, and a motor, which allows for automatic control. Systems evolve by using ever-increasing increments of information .
Programs evolve by using ever-increasing amounts of physical resources .
Systems range from the least open to the most open, and from the least complex to the most complex. Simple, closed systems are spent quickly. Because they are closed, the laws of thermodynamics dictate that their energy content will pass from the more dense to the less dense or, in terms of heat content, from the hotter to the colder. Their relative simplicity means that they will not have the creative means to withstand challenge or counteract entropy for long. Complex, open systems like Earth are spent slowly, if they are spent at all.