Chaos's Questions #1 - Physical 'piracy'

[Chaos]

So, I have an interesting theoretical thought experiment that I was reminded of by the Piracy topic.  I figured I'd get people's minds jogging with it.  Maybe you'll even learn something.

Suppose that the technology to copy matter, much the same way that we copy data, was discovered. 

What do you think companies would do?

Would you do it?

If so, would you feel bad about doing it?

[Jake]

And so it begins...

[sly 3 4 me]

I would fall into the category of 'If everyone else is doing; why shouldn't I?'. If companies are doing it, I'd think it would be fine for normal people to partake in small quantities of the usage.. Although it would probably ruin the world. I don't think the world can function without an economy or stable set of actual limitations. Perhaps it would be covered up and not distributed? Regardless, I would think the world would end with people trying to clone themselves and have mutations and such..

[Lucifer]

I need some things clarified.

Can you copy living beings?
Is this technology widespread & easily acquirable? (I.E. Computers & Pirating)
Is there any costs involved, or limitations to what you can copy? (I.E. Size)

It's hard for me to put this into perspective without some kind of rules in place, otherwise I'm stuck imagining filling every square inch of the world with kittens and large breasted women.

[Chaos]

I need some things clarified.

Can you copy living beings?
Is this technology widespread & easily acquirable?
Is there any costs involved, or in other words, possible limitations?

You can copy their body, but the new body wouldn't necessarily be alive.  Go with whatever hypothetical situation you want.

Do you think it would be?  Consider that the machine or whatever itself would be matter, and could thus be copied. 

For the sake of the discussion, no, it works just like copying data.  It copies an item down to the atom and duplicates it flawlessly.  (In reality, since matter can not be destroyed or created from nothing, only converted, it would probably work by converting matter (air particles) or whatever into the duplicated item.)

[ARTgames]

And ill assume it would be easy to do and any one can do it at any time as may times as they want. If so I guess material matter would not matter to us anymore since we could have anything anytime anywhere. Maybe just how much space we could have would be the worry but there's alot of it out there so maybe not. There would be no worry for food, place to live, just having 1 earth, defense since you can have any weapon you want. Plus if I can doop myself if i die. I would guess that most of the traditional reasons why we die or get happy/unhappy with each other will be lesser of a problem. But there would still be some normal problems still. But other than that there wouldn't be a need for "stealing" really.

I feel like most people get there kicks out of challenges and things they cant have so maybe intellectual field will be the place people look to. Trying to find out new things we can make most likely. So alot of physics/art/anything we think and makeup.

In other words I guess it would be kinda like cheating on survival mode on minecraft if you could take less of "its a game" aspect out of it. You could have what ever you wanted and you could still die, but you could make more of your self etc.

[Cactuscat222]

If such was the case, I'd say a large number of our current problems would be solved - and no one, no company, and no government is going to stop a social revolution that revolves around those machines.

In terms of how I would feel - I would not feel bad about it, and I would use the machines myself. I don't believe companies and governments would stop it, and even if they tried, I'm sure there would be one hell of a fight before the vast majority let some higher up individuals regulate a miracle machine.

[Chaos]

Haha!  I'm pleasantly surprised at how quickly you guys caught on to that!  A lot of people get hung up on the fact that you're 'depriving people of earning money off their product' and completely miss the reason they are making money in the first place.

But interestingly, I've seen people shifting this from a matter of economy to a matter of ultimate utopia vs. utter chaos.  Lucifer expressed concern that people could infinitely duplicate weapons and bombs, while my mindset has largely been about the problems it would solve, such as hunger and theft and allowing people to focus on improvement, learning, and fulfilling their interests.  Interesting!  What do you think?  Would good or evil ultimately win? 

Incidentally, keep in mind that it duplicates things exactly as they are, so a duplicated body would not be any younger or healthier (or even necessarily alive).  Would allow us to duplicate new body parts, making transplants for organs much easier, though!

[Loganvz123]

This is the solution to world hunger, and also the end of the world. Infinite food, Infinite healthy organs, infinite nuclear bombs, infinite war, Infinite Death.



This invention would be the end of the world.

[Chaos]

See, at this point, the question boils down to whether the person believes humanity is inherently good or evil.

Honestly, I believe people are inherently good, and just want to live.  If it weren't for circumstances, would people still commit evil acts?  Would one still pick up a gun if given a gameboy?  Would one still steal if they had all the food they needed?  Would a person who has anything they'd ever need to survive choose to spend their life making others miserable?  Do these people commit evil because of their situation, or because they are evil?

Me, I choose to believe they commit evil because they believe they have to, or because of issues when they were raised, not because they want to.

[Loganvz123]

Yeah Chaos, but it takes one idiot person, one person that has been so deprived for long. To start a world war.

[ARTgames]

See, at this point, the question boils down to whether the person believes humanity is inherently good or evil.

Honestly, I believe people are inherently good, and just want to live.  If it weren't for circumstances, would people still commit evil acts?  Would one still pick up a gun if given a gameboy?  Would one still steal if they had all the food they needed?  Would a person who has anything they'd ever need to survive choose to spend their life making others miserable?  Do these people commit evil because of their situation, or because they are evil?

Me, I choose to believe they commit evil because they believe they have to, or because of issues when they were raised, not because they want to.

Hard to say since good and evil are such relative terms depending on the viewer so it would depend on the individual. But do generally have somethings we think that are good or evil but some of that changes over time and if we had something this big I think it would change many things we think of as good and evil. I would say in the end people are people and will do all the above mainly because when you give them a choice like that in the virtual world they seem to do all of the above.

Under my own judgment of the meaning of those words probably pretty much in the middle maybe leaning to the good side.

[DarkTrinity]

I think the world's good points and problems would be the same, just multiplied by a lot. Because the good people would use it for good, the bad would use it for bad. So, I'm thinking it would be like it is now, just both ends of the spectrum would be greatly exaggerated.

(recreating money, cars, products people don't really need but want. Inflation, but I guess who needs money when you can duplicate things.... I think the world would just fill up with junk and crush us all in due time. That would be the apocalypse I'd see. lol)

[Scotty]

I'd duplicate about 500 jagillion copies of Christina Hendricks and never leave the house.  Get on it Chaos!

[T-Rok]

I'd duplicate about 500 jagillion copies of Christina Hendricks and never leave the house.  Get on it Chaos!

Necrophilia?