Section from K. Eric's Engines of Creation
"Replicators can be more potent than nuclear weapons: to devastate Earth with bombs would require masses of exotic hardware and rare isotopes, but to destroy life with replicators would require only a single speck made of ordinary elements. Replicators give nuclear war some company as a potential cause of extinction, giving a broader context to extinction as a moral concern.
Despite their potential as engines of destruction, nanotechnology and AI systems will lend themselves to more subtle uses than do nuclear weapons. A bomb can only blast things, but nanomachines and AI systems could be used to infiltrate, seize, change and govern a territory or a world, but they do have use for bugs, drugs and assassins, and other flexible engines of power. With advanced technology, states will be able to consolidate their power over the people.
Like genes, memes, organisms, and hardware, states have evolved. Their institutions have spread (with variations) through growth,, fission, imitation, and conquests. States at war fight like beasts, but using citizens as their bones, brains, and muscle. The coming breakthroughs will confront states with new pressures and opprotunities, encouraging sharp changes in how states behave. This naturally gives cause for concern. States have, historically, excelled at slaughter and opprression."
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
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nanogirl@halcyon.com
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