I conjecture that you are right and the reason this works is that a large class of optimizing goals actually converge in the long run. In other words, whether

I conjecture that you are right and the reason this works is that a large class of optimizing goals actually converge in the long run. In other words, whether you choose paper clips, Bibles or human DNA as your optimization goal, over very long timescales (like a billion years) the optimal algorithms for all of them converge. If you want to make a solar mass of paper clips, you need a lot of infrastructure in common with a solar mass of any other goal.