From: Robin Hanson (rhanson@gmu.edu)
Date: Thu Jul 13 2000 - 11:29:29 MDT
John K Clark wrote:
> > To be clearer, I'll grant a largely-self-reproducing atomic
> precision factory,
> > which implies the ability to manufacture the components of a factory,
> > including simple computers and machine tools.
>
>Why simple? I think you're assuming than a nanomachine assembling something
>from atoms would need to be as intelligent as a human being on a assembly
>line putting
>macroscopic parts together, but that's not true, dealing with atoms is
>much simpler.
>I'll grant you that without AI designing a complex machine would be
>difficult just as it is now,
It seems far from clear to me that it is trivial to take a design for a
bridge,
throw some nanodust at it and say "Build it for me over there." Assembly
and construction use intelligence, just as design does.
Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu
Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
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