Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!decvax!ucbvax!EECS.UMICH.EDU!dwt
From: dwt@EECS.UMICH.EDU (David West)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest
Subject: Re: Intelligent Nanocomputers
Message-ID: <724@zippy.eecs.umich.edu>
Date: 19 Jan 88 18:43:43 GMT
References: <8801180618.AA08132@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: umix!umich!eecs.umich.edu!dwt@uunet.UU.NET (David West)
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept. Ann Arbor
Lines: 16
Summary: Let George Do It.
Approved: ailist@kl.sri.com


In article <8801180618.AA08132@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> GODDEN@gmr.COM writes:
> [...] the book >Engines of Creation< by K. Eric Drexler of MIT. [...]
>it is not necessary to first understand intelligence.  All one has to do is 
>simulate the brain [...] a complete hardware simulation of the brain can be 
>done [...] in the space of one cubic centimeter [...] h a machine could then
>just be allowed to run and should be able to accomplish a man-year of
>work in ten seconds.  

The breathtaking simplicity of the idea is awesome.  Of course, some
technological advances will be necessary for its realization, but note that
to attain them, it is not necessary to understand technology ... all one has
to do is simulate its development.  A complete hardware simulation of the
U.S. technological enterprise can be done in the space of one cubic meter
(see appendix A) ... such a machine could then just be allowed to run, and 
should be able to accomplish a century of progress in one hour.