Post by Nuclear on Aug 3, 2013 22:28:48 GMT 9.5
Is machine self-replication a long-term solution to the energy and climate crisis?
Imagine large conglomerates of robots ingesting desert sand, producing solar panels, power lines and copies of themselves in the process. Thanks to exponential growth, such systems would be able to produce enough solar panels to power the world several times over in a comparably short amount of time. The potential would be enormous, even if a certain fraction of the mass of each machine (complex but lightweight parts such as computer chips) had to be supplied externally.
When people think fifty years from now, they usually think nuclear fusion. They don't imagine self-replicating machines constructing vast solar arrays in deserts, in space, or on the Moon ... is this a mistake?
Imagine large conglomerates of robots ingesting desert sand, producing solar panels, power lines and copies of themselves in the process. Thanks to exponential growth, such systems would be able to produce enough solar panels to power the world several times over in a comparably short amount of time. The potential would be enormous, even if a certain fraction of the mass of each machine (complex but lightweight parts such as computer chips) had to be supplied externally.
When people think fifty years from now, they usually think nuclear fusion. They don't imagine self-replicating machines constructing vast solar arrays in deserts, in space, or on the Moon ... is this a mistake?