On Fri, 1 Aug 2003 20:51:20 +0000 (UTC), "Nick M V Salmon"
<spam_dump@btinternet.com> wrote:

"Bryan Derksen" <bryan.derksen@shaw-spamguard.ca> wrote

Oh, and self-replicating robots would present the exact same problem,
Fermi-wise, if you do have machines that good. Personally, I suspect
that that's what we'll ultimately send out to colonze the galaxy in
real life - not humans, but the machines descended from them.

You obviously haven't read Greg Bear's "Forge Of God" & "Anvil Of Stars" -
sending out self replicating Von Neumann machines to 'colonize' the galaxy
might be viewed as a hostile act by the rest of the galaxy's occupants..!

I've read them, and find them unrealistic. If the galaxy is populated
by intelligent life that is deliberately restricting itself from
exploting all available resources, then there's going to be a massive
advantage for any species (machine life or otherwise) that _does_
agressively exploit all available resources. How would the other
occupants of the galaxy stop these self-replicating machines if they
are handicapping themselves to such a degree?