From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Mon Dec 02 2002 - 16:04:38 MST
From: Robert J. Bradbury [mailto:bradbury@aeiveos.com]
> An assembler does not need to be a self-replicator.
Okay okay. Maybe I'm out of date. The safety concerns I've posted
deal specifically with self-replicating assemblers. I have far fewer
problems with highly specific non-replicating nano-devices. (I
hesitate to call these assemblers, though.)
And again, I feel like the non-replicating model results only in
incremental improvement of current manufacturing techniques. I don't
feel that it achieves the potential for vast social change that
Drexler envisioned in _Engines of Creation_. That's fine by me -
those social changes include very scary risks as well, and big parts
of Eric's reasoning on the economic leveling impact of
self-replicating nano have always seemed a bit dubious.
cheers,
mez
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