I think it won't be long until we're going to have a self replicating factory - a self replicator, like a living thing, capable of making copies of itself and producing anything we need. Is that even possible? I believe so - a combination of robotic assembly and 3d printing, when coupled with extensive industrial design libraries would do the trick. We could "compile" any design into physical form, even a replica of the factory itself.
When it exists, then we can produce for cost of materials and raw energy any amount of war robots. Even a single replicator can bootstrap an army. Then war becomes democratic again. /s
What I want to say is that even the current advantage of the superpowers is temporary. Self replicating factories will make economy a thing of the past. We just need one of those in open source. Software itself is already a self replicating technology.
Even hardware is becoming more and more accessible. Drones, Raspberry Pi's, sensors - they are converging towards cheap easy integration. That means the automation field is opening up, the entry barrier going down.
> I think soon enough we're going to have a self replicating factory
You can build that factory, but it can't produce without resources - and those are still gathered and transported in a very inefficient, low-tech way. It's an interesting problem to solve.
Moreover those resources that are cheap to access are already in hands of major players. You either get to find new ones or new places that haven't been accessed. (In space?)
When it exists, then we can produce for cost of materials and raw energy any amount of war robots. Even a single replicator can bootstrap an army. Then war becomes democratic again. /s
What I want to say is that even the current advantage of the superpowers is temporary. Self replicating factories will make economy a thing of the past. We just need one of those in open source. Software itself is already a self replicating technology.
Even hardware is becoming more and more accessible. Drones, Raspberry Pi's, sensors - they are converging towards cheap easy integration. That means the automation field is opening up, the entry barrier going down.