# A Dialogue Concerning the Essence and Role of Information in the World System
## 2 The Dialogue
In each and every case, it is the human that initiates action on matter, i.e., in-forms matter, with a specific purpose. Of course, matter, as a reactive object, yields a response that the human uses to gain information about the behavior, mechanical or otherwise, of the matter at hand for present or future use. This is at the heart of info-autopoietic behavior by humans, i.e., humans self-produce information from their interactions with the environment. So, it is not matter that creates information; rather, it is matter, as a function of the actions and needs of humans, that reflects desired information by humans. The thermostat is also an example of this, since it processes and produces information at the behest of humans. There is no example of information that does not reflect this dynamic: the process of info-autopoiesis is at the heart of information creation. **M**: So, you agree that matter, or in other words, any material thing, can inform. **J**: I agree that any material thing can inform, but only as a result of prior human action. This would imply that there is no information in matter before living beings engage with such matter. Info-autopoiesis is the key to understand this connection. This brings us to your second question of whether all living beings create information or only some of them. My opinion is that **all** living beings, from the simplest unicellular organism to the most complex multicellular organism have the capacity for info-autopoiesis, or the process of self-production of information. **M**: I can completely agree with you that all living beings create information. **J**: Now, I will answer your third question of whether all information is created by living beings or only a part of it. As I mentioned before, all living beings have the capacity for info-autopoiesis, or the process of self-production of information, but this is not all the information that exists in the infosphere. As argued before, human beings are capable of designing, building, and putting into operation systems that are fully capable of generating information, e.g., Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Consequently, the conclusion is: \"not only living beings create information but there are other systems that create information\". These systems are conceived, designed, and built at the behest of living beings, for the benefit of living beings, as part of the process of info-autopoiesis. The process of info-autopoiesis is part and parcel of this creative process of conceiving, designing, and building systems that have the capacity for creating information. **M**: Thus, you come to the conclusion that not only living beings but many other systems create information. I would like to add that according to the general theory of information, any system contains information and any active system creates information [11]. **J**: The only caveat that I would add to the general theory of information is that only living systems or systems created by living beings engage in a process of info-autopoiesis or of creating information. Now, I will answer your fourth question of whether people only create information or they also receive information. People in the process of information creation engage with the design, construction, and functioning of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These ICTs allow messages to be composed by humans or machines, coded, and optimally transmitted as communication signals that are received, denoised, decoded, and interpreted by humans or machines. So, the conclusion is: \"living beings do not only create information but also receive information from other systems\". **M**: Thus, you come to the conclusion that living beings do not only create information but also receive information from other systems. If we try to use [PERSON]'s definition, we have to say that people receive differences. We intuitively know and information theory explains what it means to receive information, but what does it mean to receive differences?