Thanks for a fantastic, in-depth yet straightforward Medium part reference to the meaning of emergent property. It explains a lot in my own work using formal systems Engineering methods, attempting to inform and clarify how we have to adapt to nature, which has to have a purpose (Currently we are not conforming, due to the financial, dishonest instrument of profit, our net activity on Earth in terms of energy is increase of entropy, the opposite of what has to be the purpose of all life - decrease of entropy by Landauer's principle at least.)
It also helps explain the solar Ai that I see as something delivered by nature, not humans, and it helps us analyse the future threat of Ai (There is threat but it is conditional on energy polarity - see my book, the energy polarity multiplier framework, and recent comments in Medium)
A relevant point you might be interested to know is that formal systems Engineering methods appear to have "built in" requirements to consider all things as having motivation and concerns. This is how formal stakeholder analyses are carried out, and if we include things like the environment also as a stakeholder, we are forced to consider it's concerns and requirements as a matter of course, otherwise it looks like we neglected them, which would be true if they were not addressed.
I really like your story as it explains why so many folk are resistant to the reality that all things have to have consciousness, motivation, and purpose. Thanks for posting.
My own conclusions on all of this is that the free energy principle has to apply, systemically as well as individually. What do you think of that?