On 2019-11-08 19:34:PM, Matt Mahoney wrote:
self replicating nanotechnology, has the potential to out compete DNA
based life. This requires great care because once the technology is
cheap, anyone could produce malicious replicators the same way that
anyone with a computer can write a virus or worm. Fortunately Freitas
analyzed the physics of replicators and concluded they could out
compete bacteria only marginally in size, speed, and energy usage.
https://foresight.org/nano/Ecophagy.php
The "ecophagy" document assesses the potential for a "gray goo" accident.
IMO, it's an unlikely scenario. When engineering overtakes the biosphere,
it probably won't be in the form of "gray goo". For example, today's
machine photosynthesizing technology is not deployed as nanobots. Instead
it has a form more like a plant, using rigid structures to rise above grass
and weeds. If what you are concerned about is engineered structures
replacing and displacing DNA-based lifeforms, the "ecophagy" document
seems of
low relevance, because it considers an unlikely range of scenarios. Nor do
its comments about the limits on the energetic potential of these nanobots
offer much reassurance. Macroscopic robots - not nanobots - are more obvious
competition for humans, plants and animals. They can do things like harness
nuclear power, and have a range of options and strategies that nanobots
do not.
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|im |yler http://timtyler.org/
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