Jed has painted an interesting and scary picture of what might be done with microelectronics and CF power packs. Others have thought about the threat of self-replicating nanobots taking over everything as 'grey goo'.
There is earnest and real research into robot insects. As the aerodynamics of flapping wings, slow flight, and light weight are studied, it is realized that it is a whole different world than fixed wing aircraft. One needs synthetic muscles, not miniature motors, for one thing. Writing control algorithms and storing them in microelectronics can be done. I will grant that the essence of LENR will be discovered, and miniaturized and controlled to the point that it cna be turned on and off by a switch, and its energy effciently coverted to electric power. It would be very adventurous to say it could not be done. At that point Jed's crows will be but one of many worries amid a myriad of benefits. Directing a flight of crows into a jet engine on takeoff is one thing. A replay of "The Birds" is another level of command and control which is vulnerable to jamming. The measure/countermeasure escalation can put the game out of reach of terrorists. The grey goo scenario is easier to shoot down, for nanobots are born in a semiconductor fab, which is a very specialized einvronment and an escaped nanobot is not about to find in a grain of sand the means of making another. Mike Carrell
