Viruses passively hijack the mechanisms of their much more sophisticated host organisms, getting them to import the virus and actively read and act upon its gen

Viruses passively hijack the mechanisms of their much more sophisticated host organisms, getting them to import the virus and actively read and act upon its genetic code. Is it really such a stretch to imagine a sufficiently convincing software artifact similarly convincing its more complex hosts to take actions which support the replication of the artifact? I genuinely don't see where the analogy breaks down.