| override_editor

“ Repair - What is the difference between self-repair and self-reproduction? Ordinarily replication involves duplication of the whole system, whereas repair involves replacement of only some subset of it. But at what point does "repair" become "reproduction"? Is machine self-repair or self-reproduction more difficult from a technical standpoint, and why? (Self-repair may require an analytical intelligence, whereas much of reproduction can be accomplished by "rote.") ”

“ How long a replication time or doubling time is economically acceptable and feasible? Are there "diseconomies of scale" that make a small seed factory difficult to achieve? Should whole systems, or just their components, be replicated? At what point should factory components specialize in particular functions? Should these components be permitted to replicate at different rates within the expanding factory complex? What is the optimum mix of special-purpose and general-purpose robots? ”

“ Can similar processes and analogies be drawn upon for use in the development of selfreplicating machine technology? What is the minimum critical mass for a stable ecosystem? For a machine economy with closure? What is the possibility of semisentient workpieces? This concept is sometimes referred to as "distributed robotics." Perhaps each workpiece in an assembly process could be imbued with some small measure of machine intelligence using advanced microelectronic circuitry. ”

“ Perhaps an "artificial intelligence expert system" is required? What can be said about the possibility of machine "natural" or "participatory" evolution? How fast might machines "evolve" under intelligent direction? Is there any role for the concept of "sex" in machine replicating systems? Competing machines of different types, loyalties, or functions may interact destructively. For example, machines could disassemble others and cannibalize the parts. This might be viewed as adaptive or aggressive, if the disabled machine is willing ”

“ A few possibilities include learning, memory structure, advanced task planning, adaptivity, association, creativity, intuition and "hunch" formation, hypothesis generation, self-awareness, survival motives, sophisticated database reasoning, symbolic meaning of knowledge, autonomous problem solving, and insight. Similarly, the state-of-the-art in robotics and automation from the viewpoint of SRS development needs to be examined. What is the least complex biological self-replicating system? ”

“ Is less than full closure acceptable in some applications? What might be the principles of "closure engineering"? To what extent should/can/must reproducing machines be energetically and materially self-sufficient? ”