memoria@memoria.com quotes the Bill Joy article:
<< a.. Biotechnology will allow for routine cut-and-pasting of genetic
material -- and the creation, by accident or intent, of virulent pathogens
that could decimate whole societies.>>
Well we already have anthrax ready to be used. We have had this capabality
since 1935-so what? Deployment from aircraft capability since 1942(est)
<<b.. Self-replicating, intelligent robots will emerge in the laboratory,
then merge with people, then, conceivably, subjugate and even replace the
human species.>>
And damnit, they won't be buying Sun Microsystem stock!! They'll be investing
in my competitors! The strawberries...somebdy took the strawberries, and
we'll find out who! The nanotech might merge with humans and then engage in
all night poker tournements (shudder).
c.. Nanotechnology, through which scientists attempt to build machines the
size of molecules, may lead to enormous benefits. For instance,
micro-machines with the intelligence of supercomputers might conduct
search-and-destroy missions against cancer cells inside the body. But the
technology might also give rise to self-replicating micro-robots, or
``nanobots,'' created in the laboratory to, say, kill weeds. There's always
the chance, though, that the micro-robots will instead mutate, escape and
proliferate like mad, eradicating all plant life on the planet.>>
I am guessing that even if grey goo becomes a genuine issue, one thing Joy
misses on all counts, is that if the USA goes "British" on us, that is to say
ant-tech, some other sodden region of the world might just continue research,
attracting newly expatriate scientists from America. Lets say that China, or
India or Pakistan, or South Africa, or Brazil, just to name a few places that
may just say "up yours Luddites, we're making da money!" I wonder if Joy
would call down nuclear strikes or invasions on said placed, in order to save
the world?
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:56:45 MDT