To me it sounds like yet another attempt by materialism to get to grips with a non materialist view.

We all know at some level that the universe is not just full of "dumb rocks" (quoting Alan Watts). Evolution CAN coexist with the unknown. We're all mapping a sandbox from the inside, so to speak.

Evolution is a thing, physics is a thing, and it can all happen in consciousness.

But the notion of "god" and "intelligent universe" are so loaded these days, that a materialist has to find all kind of funny ways around it.

I think it's valuable, to try to express old ideas in a more modern language... But let's be honest theories like the "universe is a imulation", or that intelligence somehow pertains to alien life ... are just ways to postpone the hard problem of consciousness.

Potentially related:

The Physicalist Worldview as Neurotic Ego-Defense Mechanism

http://realitysandwich.com/320896/the-physicalist-worldview-...