RE: salon scare article: nanobiotechnology shock level

From: pdugan (pdugan@vt.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 09 2006 - 16:13:44 MST


Well, it does raise a good point that we aren't ready NOW, though the majority
of its flare is just that, geared to make it a readable and interesting
article. What the article doesn't take into account is the possibility of
friendly AGI to mitigate nano, femto and planck tech, which would still end
the human race in a sense, leading to a radical new wave of post-human
existences, but humanity as a stasis will could still exist, that is human
children could still be born and grow up and live as human adults for as long
as we want.

I think the biggest shock factor is the notion that humanity will no longer be
the controlling party, not so much the complexity involved.

Patrick

>===== Original Message From Kevin Osborne <kevin.osborne@gmail.com> =====
>http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2006/03/09/nanobiobot/
>
>"Nanofabricated animats may be infinitessimally tiny, but their
>electrons will be exactly the same size as ours -- and their effect on
>human reality will be as immeasurable as the universe. Like an
>inverted SETI program, humanity must now look inward, constantly
>scanning technology space for animats, or their progenitors. The first
>alien life may not come from the stars, but from ourselves."



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