The Promise of Molecular Engineering

Everything is a pattern of information.

Every piece of matter in existence is a pattern of atoms.

Patterns of atoms can be digitally stored as information.

By applying the awe-inspiring principles of molecular engineering, nanotechnology, and robotics, complex 3D objects can be created from the (microscopic) ground up according to the specifications of digital molecular blueprints.

Exactly how much awe does all of this tend to actually inspire?



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Do you want a cup of coffee? Just click on the molecular blueprint file on your computer and send it to your 3D printer. Adjust the heat to precisely your liking by exciting the electrons to just the right speed.

Do you want new clothes? Go online and download the latest fashions or use design software to make your own blueprints and print away!

Break your glasses? Print some more.

Need a new computer? Print one with the most up-to-date processing power. It'll be out of date by tomorrow, so just recycle it and print a new one.

Need to ship somebody something? Scan it and send the blueprint in an email. They can print up their own. You even get to keep your copy.

Sounds amazing, right? If you can dream it, it is possible.

The implications are so utterly profound! The most basic material needs will no longer exist! Material possessions could be a matter of choice, not chance. Work would no longer be the drudgery of production. Your time could be spent living every moment of your life according to the dictates of your conscience.

The laws of economics would be rewritten and eventually replaced by Economics 2.0. The new economic system will be one that I cannot even begin to imagine, and it will probably be first understood by conscious beings with intelligence far exceeding that of our own. And for the record, I intend to be among those beings. I hope you're listening Google!

If it weren't for the fact that socialism is an ideological veil for violent coercion, I would say that I would welcome this kind of technological socialism with open arms. If we simply look at socialism as the "direct ownership of the means of production and allocation of resources," without implying the need of a government, then I say that socialist utopia is an inevitable by-product of the coming Singularity. Technology has the potential to make all of the lives on this planet rewarding and beautiful by freeing us from the inequalities of birth or social status.

Skeptical? Good! But consider this: even without 3D printing, the Internet is already making this ideal of "technological socialism" a reality. Case in point being universal access to education. Public schools have been failing miserably for decades to make this "sacred cow" of democracy a reality. But in just this week alone, two public school teachers (one who happens to be a good friend, great guy, and self-proclaimed socialist) have said to me that they have learned more from the Internet than they ever did in school. I feel the same way. And I think that you, my dearest reader, would have to agree as well.

But does the ownership of the means of production a socialist society make? No, because socialism still does imply the necessity of a coercive authority. I would argue that the widespread emergence and acceptance of this type of technology is more compatible with an anarchic society. I've only incorporated the socialist ideology into this post to show that, even though we think we fundamentally disagree, socialists and anarchists might actually be working toward some of the same ideals. We are all in this together, and there is such possibility for a bright and shiny future. As I've said before, there are very few evil people in the world, though evil ideas abound. I fight the latter and embrace the former.

Bring on the Singularity!