On Sun, Jul 01, 2007 at 07:01:07PM +1000, Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > What sort of technical information, exactly, is still secret after 50 years?
The precise blueprint for a working device. Not a crude gun assembler, the full implosion assembly mounty. The HE lens geometries, the timing, the means of ignition, the neutron primer, the shape of the entire assembly and how to get there. I was always interested in nuclear technology, especially weapon design, so I've read several interviews with weapon designers, and it is very quite obvious what they do say, and what they don't. You won't find that information anywhere, though you might be able to purchase that information from the nuclear black market, assuming you have the right connections and can pay the price. In fact the assembly of a critical device has some close analogy to AI bootstrap. You need large installations, lots of energy and a large body of experts to get there first. > >Everyone knows how to wripte a P2P application. Nobody knows how to > >build an AI. If it's a large-scale effort the knowledge can be controlled > >for a long time. > > Are you suggesting that this would be possible even when the computer > hardware is generally available, and it is mainly a matter of keeping I'm not sure all-purpose hardware would be suitable. It depends very much upon which computing paradigm is dominant by that time (40-50 years away from now). Judging from the past, there might be not that much progress there. > the software secret? I'm definitely suggesting that secrecy and surveillance would go a very long way to keeping sentient software out of the hands of the general public. Arguably, the general public might or might not be in possession of the hardware in question. ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=4007604&user_secret=7d7fb4d8
