On Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 2:06 PM, Logan Streondj <[email protected]> wrote: > > I don't consider nanomachine replicators a major threat, as biology is > already a nano-machine replicator, so it would really be similar to a > biowarfare agent, which is quite difficult to to propogate in modern day > society, as was the case with SARS, H1N1 among a variety of other things.
The paper by Freitas does indeed put limits on nanotechnology that are on the same order of magnitude as biology, with respect to size, replication rate, and energy requirements. But I don't believe that such things are difficult to propagate. Moore's Law will likely make genetic engineering cheap enough that anyone can do it, just like anyone can use their home computers to write viruses. Already you can download the DNA sequences for smallpox, Spanish flu (which killed 20 million people in 1918), and a variant of bird flu that spreads as easily as the common cold. > Any nano-robots would have the same problem of needing to adapt to a > particular host type, such as humans. If they are independantly mobile, they > would likely have to use something similar to wings, and would really make it > no different then a fly of some kind, perhaps a biting fly. It would have > the same problems of not being able to get through clothing, and having > trouble with sub-optimal temperature or wind conditions. Nanotechnology can be designed for a wide variety of environments that are not suitable for living things, for example, outer space. There can also be many species. Malaria kills 1 million people every year, even though we know how it spreads, down to the DNA sequences of the parasite and the mosquito that carries it. Nanotechnology has a number of advantages over DNA based life. I already mentioned the higher efficiency of solar cells as compared to chlorophyll. Another is that they can be made of abundant elements like silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and iron, which are thousands of times more abundant than the elements needed to support life such as carbon, and in particular, phosphorus. Another is that they can grow to massive intelligence very quickly. Each bacteria sized nanobot need not have more computing power than a single neuron, but if they can communicate then they could replicate and network to exceed the computing power of human civilization within days. They need not replicate in the same manner as life, such as by binary fission or fertilizing eggs. It is more efficient in manufacturing to have many different specialists work together in factories, with each factory producing one particular specialist type or part. They can be produced by a combination of evolution and intelligent design. There are at least 3 kinds of nanotechnology accidents we have to guard against. 1. Accidental release by responsible scientists due to a containment failure. 2. Unintended behavior by nanotechnology deliberately released but thought to be safe. 3. Intentional release by a suicidal madman. We have seen all 3 of these events before with other forms of dangerous technology. -- -- Matt Mahoney, [email protected] ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-f452e424 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-58d57657 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
