From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Sun Mar 17 2002 - 06:44:13 MST
Mark Walker wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury@aeiveos.com>
> To: <extropians@extropy.org>
> >
> > Nanotech can be completely disrupted by high levels of radiation or
> > high temperatures, both of which may be produced using non-nanotech.
> > This is something generally ignored by people overly concerned with
> > some-color-of-goo scenarios.
> >
> How much comfort should we take in this? Unless I am in a hermetically
> sealed container surrounded by a sphere of high temperature or radiation it
> seems that some of the darker goo scenarios really are a worry. A fleet of
> microsubs and microhelicopters carrying nanotroops could destroy our
> civilization in pretty short order. How will we disinfect and protect the
> world's air and water supplies? And if a few manage to survive holed up in
> some fortress protected by radiation or heat, it seems the nanotroops still
> have the option of constructing retroweapons such a nuclear bombs to coax
> you out.
> I would love to be convinced that the reality of the situation is happier
> than this.
No, I'd say you've stated it pretty much correctly. Offense has so far
tended to run ahead of defense at extremes of technology, and an impervious
shield against military nanotech must not only defend against bots but also
against fusion weapons constructed by those bots.
-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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