At the sound of the replicator, it will be #utopia o'clock.
Low-cost matter replication is the one big thing that humanity needs to move forward. Being able to copy things as easily as we copy computer files would go a long way toward solving humanity's problems.
Not least of which being that components for our other endeavors (like AI, space travel, and fusion power) are expensive. Not so expensive any more if you can make just one and then copy it endlessly, yes?
I've heard some say that this would make humanity lazy and unproductive. There's even a movie along those lines.
My siblings in Sheogorath, lazying around all day is BORING! Who the hell wants to just sit around in a chair all day when there's gadgets to design, pictures to paint, and places to explore?
Sure, manual labor isn't going to be much of a thing any more, but there's more to life than that.
Life itself is the result of nature making a similar breakthrough, by the way: little machines (i.e. living cells) that replicate themselves endlessly.
Can we now do the same for arbitrary matter? That's the $64k question.
ARGVMI~1.PIF
jay_chi
Green Roc Thoughts