grey goo

grey goo, a nightmarish scenario of nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating nanobots destroy the biosphere by endlessly producing replicas of themselves and feeding on materials necessary for life. The term was coined by American engineer Eric Drexler in his book Engines of Creation (1986). Molecular electronics—a subfield of nanotechnology where individual molecules can become circuit elements—would make it possible to manipulate matter at the molecular and atomic level, and this, combined with advances in the physical sciences and gene technology, would make it possible for enormous transformative power to be unleashed.

Optimists have hailed the positive possibilities of such self-replicating machines. Molecular-level “assemblers” could solve the world’s energy crisis through low-cost solar power, cure terrible diseases like cancer by boosting the human immune system, completely clean up the environment, and even enable the restoration of extinct species. The cheapness and abundance of materials, since the basic building blocks of the technology are at the molecular level, would make it easy and cheap to create any product, including incredibly inexpensive pocket supercomputers.

However, pessimists have warned against the possibility of such molecular-level assemblers wreaking havoc because they could spin out of control, could be deliberately diverted to destructive applications, or become so incredibly efficient and intelligent that human oversight or control would become superfluous. Central to this argument is that nanotechnology crucially gives nanoassemblers the ability to reproduce, meaning that it would be a small step from an intelligent robot to a robot species. Moreover, historical examples of unforeseen consequences of technological innovation, such as the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or DDT-resistant malarial mosquitoes, have been used to underline the dangers of creating robots, engineered organisms, and nanobots that self-replicate, manifestly multiplying their capacity for destruction of the physical world.

Theoretically, several suggestions for control have been put forward: limits on replicative capacity; wide dispersion; operational energy and chemical element requirements; the use of rare materials (such as diamonds or titanium) to create molecular assemblers so that they do not turn on humans, who carry infinitely small amounts of these elements; using built-in controls to prevent the grey goo scenario; early detection of destructive self-replication by vigilant monitoring; and rapid deployment of an effective defense. Moreover, because of the enormous complexity involved, it is not easy to create such nanobots, and it is unlikely that they could easily be created, given current technological limitations. (Drexler himself has said such self-replicating machines would be unlikely to be built because of their inefficiency in manufacturing.)