[extropy-chat] [Bulk] Re: Forbes Magazine on Robotics

spike spike66 at comcast.net
Tue Aug 22 03:32:52 UTC 2006


> On Aug 21, 2006, at 21:45, Keith Henson wrote:
> 
> > Ethanol is just barely a positive energy return.  If they didn't
> > cut the cane by hand in Brazil with extremely low cost labor, it
probably would not work at all...




I was up at the ranch last week cleaning out the creek where the beavers had
gnawed trees and created a gnarly mess.  Couldn't we train these toothy
sons-a-bitches to cut cane or corn, then haul the stalks to a collection bin
for distillation?  They can be manufactured in arbitrary quantities and fed
on the waste products.  They could be fed and housed much more cheaply than
human labor.  It would be even cooler if we could train them to plant and
weed as well as harvest the crops.  We would tap into their neurosystems in
order to give them pleasant endorphins if they do the right thing, and
nothing if they do otherwise.  

I don't see why not, we make horses, cattle and dogs work for us, so why not
beavers?

spike









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