Do you think evolution has a direction?

I was reflecting on my conversations with Govi. I asked her: do you think evolution has a direction? and she is "no absolutely not, it is random". I said "but if you look at the history of life on earth, it started simple and it's become increasingly complex", and she says "it started simple, it became complex and now it's complexity has stabilized". I narrowed my eyes "I don't think that's true, clearly there is a pattern of emerging sophistication in life, dinosaurs birds mammals all that", "yes but the primitive still exists" and I'm "yeah but that doesn't invalidate my point, if we'd measured the collective intelligence of life on Earth, total and average per living being, we'd see a clear increase in intelligence".

I didn't elaborate into more the more fanciful ideas I entertain. Let us suppose that Earth is alive.

The Gaia theory posits that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system involving the biosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrospheres and the pedosphere, tightly coupled as an evolving system. The theory sustains that this system as a whole, called Gaia, seeks a physical and chemical environment optimal for contemporary life.[1]

Gaia evolves through a cybernetic feedback system operated unconsciously by the biota, leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability in a full homeostasis. Many processes in the Earth's surface essential for the conditions of life depend on the interaction of living forms, especially microorganisms, with inorganic elements. These processes establish a global control system that regulates Earth's surface temperature, atmosphere composition and ocean salinity, powered by the global thermodynamic desequilibrium state of the Earth system.

I speculate that social and intelligent species (if we dare to call ourselves that) have a specific function in the planetary development of Gaia or any other extra-solar planet that harbors life. It creates the brain that further regulates planetary environmental processes. In essence, the Earth will evolve from a cold blooded planet into a warm blooded one which can harbor more life.

There is the possibility of peril in this task. Intelligent species in planets around the around the universe must have hit this same spot, in which their development affected the planetary environment and were unsuccessful in fixing it. The survival bottleneck favors the development of a different, more intelligent species which is able to observe the folly in the geological record and is more environmentally aware.

I do not believe in the great filter. I think the planet has not reached maturity yet to communicate with other planets. Its brain is nascent but developing quickly. When development matures, we will become welcome into a planetary network. It would be exceptional that our planet communicates with another planet and the other planet responds "Oh that's cool, all this time I thought I was alone too!".