Grey Goo (video Game)
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Gray goo (also spelled as grey goo) is a hypothetical global catastrophic scenario involving
molecular nanotechnology Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is a technology based on the ability to build structures to complex, atomic specifications by means of mechanosynthesis. This is distinct from nanoscale materials. Based on Richard Feynman's vision of miniat ...
in which out-of-control
self-replicating machine A self-replicating machine is a type of autonomous robot that is capable of reproducing itself autonomously using raw materials found in the environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to that found in nature. The concept of ...
s consume all biomass (and perhaps also everything else) on
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
while building many more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ''
ecophagy Ecophagy is a term coined by Robert Freitas that means the consumption of an ecosystem. It derives . Freitas used the term to describe a scenario involving molecular nanotechnology gone awry. In this situation (called the grey goo scenario) out- ...
'' . The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident. Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally described by mathematician
John von Neumann John von Neumann ( ; ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, in ...
, and are sometimes referred to as von Neumann machines or
clanking replicator A self-replicating machine is a type of autonomous robot that is capable of reproducing itself autonomously using raw materials found in the environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to that found in nature. The concept of ...
s. The term ''gray goo'' was coined by nanotechnology pioneer
K. Eric Drexler Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for introducing molecular nanotechnology (MNT), and his studies of its potential from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...
in his 1986 book ''
Engines of Creation ''Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology'' is a 1986 molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler with a foreword by Marvin Minsky. An updated version was released in 2007. The book has been translated into Japanese, ...
''. In 2004, he stated "I wish I had never used the term 'gray goo'." ''Engines of Creation'' mentions "gray goo" as a thought experiment in two paragraphs and a note, while the popularized idea of gray goo was first publicized in a mass-circulation magazine, '' Omni'', in November 1986.


Definition

The term was first used by molecular nanotechnology pioneer
K. Eric Drexler Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for introducing molecular nanotechnology (MNT), and his studies of its potential from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...
in ''Engines of Creation'' (1986). In Chapter 4, ''Engines Of Abundance'', Drexler illustrates both
exponential growth Exponential growth occurs when a quantity grows as an exponential function of time. The quantity grows at a rate directly proportional to its present size. For example, when it is 3 times as big as it is now, it will be growing 3 times as fast ...
and inherent limits (not gray goo) by describing " dry"
nanomachines Molecular machines are a class of molecules typically described as an assembly of a discrete number of molecular components intended to produce mechanical movements in response to specific stimuli, mimicking macromolecular devices such as switch ...
that can function only if given special
raw materials A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finished ...
: According to Drexler, the term was popularized by an article in science fiction magazine ''Omni'', which also popularized the term "nanotechnology" in the same issue. Drexler says
arms control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee wea ...
is a far greater issue than gray goo "nanobugs". Drexler describes gray goo in Chapter 11 of ''Engines of Creation'': Drexler notes that the geometric growth made possible by self-replication is inherently limited by the availability of suitable raw materials. Drexler used the term "gray goo" not to indicate color or texture, but to emphasize the difference between "superiority" in terms of human values and "superiority" in terms of competitive success:
Bill Joy William Nelson Joy (born November 8, 1954) is an American computer engineer and venture capitalist. He co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Scott McNealy, Vinod Khosla, and Andy Bechtolsheim, and served as Chief Scientist and CTO ...
, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems, discussed some of the problems with pursuing this technology in his now-famous 2000 article in ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' magazine, titled " Why The Future Doesn't Need Us". In direct response to Joy's concerns, the first quantitative technical analysis of the ecophagy scenario was published in 2000 by nanomedicine pioneer
Robert Freitas Robert A. Freitas Jr. (born 1952) is an American nanotechnologist. Early life and education Freitas was born in Camden, Maine. His father worked in agriculture, and his mother was a homemaker. Freitas married Nancy, his childhood sweetheart, in ...
.


Risks and precautions

Drexler more recently conceded that there is no need to build anything that even resembles a potential runaway replicator. This would avoid the problem entirely. In a paper in the journal ''
Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...
'', he argues that self-replicating machines are needlessly complex and inefficient. His 1992 technical book on advanced nanotechnologies '' Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation'' describes manufacturing systems that are desktop-scale factories with specialized machines in fixed locations and conveyor belts to move parts from place to place. None of these measures would prevent a party from creating a weaponized gray goo, were such a thing possible.
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
(then
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
) called upon the British
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
to investigate the "enormous environmental and social risks" of nanotechnology in a planned report, leading to much media commentary on gray goo. The Royal Society's report on nanoscience was released on 29 July 2004, and declared the possibility of self-replicating machines to lie too far in the future to be of concern to regulators. More recent analysis in the paper titled ''Safe Exponential Manufacturing'' from the
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...
(co-written by Chris Phoenix, Director of Research of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, and Eric Drexler), shows that the danger of gray goo is far less likely than originally thought. However, other long-term major risks to society and the environment from nanotechnology have been identified. Drexler has made a somewhat public effort to retract his gray goo hypothesis, in an effort to focus the debate on more realistic threats associated with knowledge-enabled nanoterrorism and other misuses. In ''Safe Exponential Manufacturing'', which was published in a 2004 issue of ''Nanotechnology'', it was suggested that creating manufacturing systems with the ability to self-replicate by the use of their own energy sources would not be needed.
The Foresight Institute The Foresight Institute (Foresight) is a San Francisco-based research non-profit that promotes the development of nanotechnology and other emerging technologies, such as safe AGI, biotech and longevity. Foresight runs four cross-disciplinary pr ...
also recommended embedding controls in the molecular machines. These controls would be able to prevent anyone from purposely abusing nanotechnology, and therefore avoid the gray goo scenario.


Ethics and chaos

Gray goo is a useful construct for considering low-probability, high-impact outcomes from emerging technologies. Thus, it is a useful tool in the
ethics of technology The ethics of technology is a sub-field of ethics addressing ethical questions specific to the technology age, the transitional shift in society wherein personal computers and subsequent devices provide for the quick and easy transfer of informa ...
.
Daniel A. Vallero Daniel A. Vallero is an American environmental author and scientist. He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and grew up in Collinsville, Illinois. He received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in city and regional planning from Southe ...
applied it as a worst-case scenario
thought experiment A thought experiment is an imaginary scenario that is meant to elucidate or test an argument or theory. It is often an experiment that would be hard, impossible, or unethical to actually perform. It can also be an abstract hypothetical that is ...
for technologists contemplating possible risks from advancing a technology. This requires that a
decision tree A decision tree is a decision support system, decision support recursive partitioning structure that uses a Tree (graph theory), tree-like Causal model, model of decisions and their possible consequences, including probability, chance event ou ...
or
event tree An event tree is an inductive analytical diagram in which an event is analyzed using Boolean logic to examine a chronological series of subsequent events or consequences. For example, event tree analysis is a major component of nuclear reactor safet ...
include even extremely low probability events if such events may have an extremely negative and irreversible consequence, i.e. application of the
precautionary principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes cautio ...
. Dianne Irving admonishes that "any error in science will have a rippling effect". Vallero adapted this reference to chaos theory to emerging technologies, wherein slight permutations of initial conditions can lead to unforeseen and profoundly negative downstream effects, for which the technologist and the new technology's proponents must be held accountable.


In popular culture

* Grey goo is the basis for "
Benderama "Benderama" is the seventeenth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 105th episode of the series overall. It originally aired June 23, 2011 on Comedy Central. The episode was written by Aa ...
", an episode of the animated science fiction sitcom ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...
''. In this episode, Bender creates smaller copies of himself to accomplish mundane tasks, which quickly spirals out of control as those copies begin replicating themselves, eventually reaching a stage where the copies are small enough to manipulate
matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic pa ...
at the subatomic level. * The ''
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
'' video game series is set in the post-apocalyptic aftermath of a Gray goo scenario, where a self-replicating swarm of 'insectoid robots' end up devouring the Earth's
biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...
rendering all life on the planet extinct. Humanity is reduced to living in scattered, primitive tribes after the species was revived via an automated terraforming system over the course of centuries. * The plot of the novel ''
Prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...
'', by
Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...
, centers around the concept of nanobots. The protagonist attempts to stop them from evolving as they self-replicate and infect others. * The video game series '' Tasty Planet'' revolves around a bathroom cleaner nanotechnology beginning to self replicate and consume the planet. * The 1985 science fiction novel '' Blood Music'' features biological computers created from lymphocyte cells. Smuggled out of a lab, the cells multiply and evolve rapidly eventually aggregating most of the biosphere of North America.


See also

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


Further reading

*
Lynn Margulis Lynn Margulis (born Lynn Petra Alexander; March 5, 1938 – November 22, 2011) was an American evolutionary biologist, and was the primary modern proponent for the significance of symbiogenesis, symbiosis in evolution. In particular, Margulis tr ...
and
Dorion Sagan Dorion Sagan (born 1959) is an American essayist, fiction writer, poet, and theorist of ecology. He has written and co-authored books on culture, art, literature, evolution, and the history and philosophy of science, including ''Cosmic Apprentice ...
– ''What Is Life?'' (1995). Simon & Schuster. * Bill Bryson ''
A Short History of Nearly Everything ''A Short History of Nearly Everything'' by American-British author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more to the general public than many other books dedicate ...
'' (2003)
Green Goo – Life in the Era of Humane Genocide
by Nick Szabo
Green Goo: Nanotechnology Comes Alive!

Green Goo: The New Nanothreat
from ''Wired''
Hello From the Wired: An Introduction to Cyber-Nihilism by N1x
from ''The Anarchist Library''


External links


Some Limits to Global Ecophagy by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, with Public Policy Recommendations


Paper critical of "grey goo," summarized in articl



* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160303180055/http://www.nanotec.org.uk/ UK Government & Royal Society commission on Nanotechnology and Nanoscience
Nanotechnology: Drexler and Smalley make the case for and against 'molecular assemblers'
(
Richard Smalley Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was an American chemist who was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University. In 1996, along with Robert Curl, also a professor of ...
argues that laws of chemistry imply it will be impossible to ever create "self-replicating nanobots" whose abilities to assemble molecules are significantly different than those of biological self-replicators. Some pro-nanobot responses to Smalley's argument can be found a
Debate About Assemblers — Smalley RebuttalThe Drexler-Smalley debate on molecular assembly
an


Nanotechnology and the Grey Goo Problem
''BBC'' {{Doomsday Artificial life Doomsday scenarios 1980s neologisms Nanotechnology Multi-robot systems Self-replicating machines Thought experiments in ethics