Subject: [extropy-chat] Social Implications of Nanotech

[CurtAdams at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/12/03 22:07:20, cphoenix at best.com writes:

>I'm not aware of any proposal for mechanochemistry-based PGMD's
>(MBPGMD's) that does not posit the MBPGMD being able to rapidly
>duplicate its structure.  

Maybe, but mechanochemistry isn't the only form of nano.  There's
no proof of mechanochemistry working, and no near-term prospects
on the table.  However, we do have, in the form of life, demostrated
functionality of wet enzyme chemistry and electromechanical devices.
With technology, when have demostrated funtionality of micromechanical
devices.  Devices based on such systems are like to beat MBPGMD
in time, assuming MBPGMD will ever work at all.

Incidentally, wet enzyme chemistry could theoretically spin out a
functional MBPGMD device, possibly even on a relatively large
and economic scale, even is MBPGMD can't self-replicate (or we
don't want to make such things for safety reasons).