Ethics of a hypothetical technology, the molecular assembler

Hello folks. Does anyone remember Star Trek, The Next Generation? @Kylie enjoys Star Trek, just as I do. In that show, the crew aboard the USS Enterprise have access to a technology known as the replicator, which can manipulate atoms at a subatomic level, to make dinner or tools for free. This technology is similar to a 3D printer, but much faster and more high tech. The replicator is not capable of making organisms or healing people, as that would ruin the plot of Star Trek. Replicator wiki link: Replicator (Star Trek) - Wikipedia

So, in today's discussion, we will unravel the secular and theological ethics of a more powerful version of the Star Trek replicator. Yes, this tech does not exist in real life, but this will be an interesting experiment for testing our understanding of ethics and morality. We will be analyzing the implications of a fictional machine named the Molecular Additive Manufacturing Unit, a device used by a hypothetical and fictional alien species.

Background:
The year is 2041 on a distant exoplanet named Xanadu with advanced technology. The race of humanoid aliens known as the Xa'na invented a new technology dubbed the Molecular Additive Manufacturing Unit (MAMU), an appliance roughly the size of a small washing machine. As the Xa'na are preparing to use fusion-powered spacecraft for interstellar exploration by the 2050s, the MAMU can allow extended for space missions without the need for astronauts to bring 5-year supplies of food. This technology can rearrange molecules and turn thin air into anything for free (rendering the planet's system of currency obsolete), such as food, tools, or medicine, or heal cancers. The machine works by transforming the molecular structure of cells in a fraction of a second by using miniature electromagnetic tractor beams to latch onto atoms. This comes at a price, as the MAMU uses about 150-400 kWh of electricity per kilogram of matter materialized or transformed. Luckily, the Xa'na have abundant renewable energy. Laws are in place globally on Xanadu so that a MAMU can not be used to make weapons, revive the dead, modify the body or brain, or create living organisms.

Questions:
Why are these legal prohibitions for the MAMU in place? What are the ethical implications of the MAMU if humans invented this technology, from both a secular and Christian theological framework?

Whyayeman said:

I do not see any ethical implications here.

Lab-grown food is already a reality, here on our own planet.

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Awesome, we both agree on that, as lab grown meat already exists here on Earth. I only see the ethics of this MAMU as being potentially dangerous if it was used to make weapons or introducing new species on the alien planet. My other ethical consideration is that the MAMU uses a lot of energy, and more energy infrastructure has to be built, so hopefully folks do not heavily rely on this tech for everything. Also, artists on the planet might be kinda angry if the MAMU is used to replicate their work, so a law might need to be in place where microprint is used on any object made by the MAMU that says "Made in a MAMU, on 4/27/2045" or something. Finally, the inhabitants of the planet might get lazy, and if anything were to damage the electrical grid such as a stellar flare, nobody would know how to grow their own food.

The bible has a verse on laziness, Proverbs 21:25: "Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work." So, if the Xa'na race, or humans use this technology, alien, or human folks might want to still be working and learning how to do stuff on their own, in case the electricity gets wiped out.

Whyayeman said:

One machine that can synthesise food, make weapons and develop artificial life?

We already have a very vigorous weapons development industry; the ethics there are no different - and there are clearly contentious issues, but again you hypothetical machine does not alter that. The arguments would be the same.

Artificial life forms are with us here and now in the form of cloned organisms and genetically engineered food sources. It is contentious, of course. Your machine does not change anything there either.

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Yeah, it is human nature. There is something in real life that relates to this ethical consideration. 3D printers have the capability of making weapons as well. The BBC covered this in an article: 3D printed guns: Warnings over growing threat of 3D firearms

Maybe, a software or AI on the 3D printer or the hypothetical machine could detect when risky things are requested to be made, and deny the user to make something. However, what if a kid on the fictional planet has a project to build a hobby rocket for his physics class? Hobby rockets use gunpowder to launch a few hundred feet into the air. That means, the MAMU could deny him the material required to get a good grade for his physics class, as gunpowder could be on the banned list of items in the MAMU's memory bank. Hmm, so maybe the user of the 3D printer or fictional machine must sign an agreement not to use anything for bad. If he/she uses the machine for bad, then the MAMU could shut itself off until police reactivate it.

Man, I could go down a rabbit hole about this. For instance, let's take the humble desktop computer. It can be used for good, such as programming software for weather modeling on more powerful computers, writing an essay, or using websites such as Christian Forums. However, some people use computers for black-hat (illegal) hacking, accessing illicit sites, or sending inflammatory messages to people on social media. There can be steps to prevent people from using computers for bad, but banning computers for all citizens outright would be immoral.

For artificial lifeforms on Earth, GMOs are a contentious issue, but if used properly, and vetted by independent organizations, these crops could feed millions. For the MAMU machine, making artificial life could be used for good, such as making viruses that can attack cancer cells* (well viruses are not living, but you get my point). However, the fictional machine could be used to extend lifespans indefinitely, if it restores cells to a young state, assuming the quantum computer inside the machine has enough processing power to analyze the trillions of cells in a healthy Xa'na alien or human, and use this as a baseline for reconstructing cells in an unhealthy Xa'na or human. I feel that this MAMU goes against God's will. God does not want humans to be separated from him, and this machine will prevent people from dying naturally of old age. So, that is why laws or legal limitations would probably be written for the usage of MAMU for medical science. Plus, if everyone lives for centuries, then planet Xanadu or our Earth would get overpopulated, as the fertility rate would exceed the death rate.


*Oncolytic Viruses explained (82 second video)

com7fy8 said:

Well, if you make it unethical for it to do anything not ethical . . .

I don't think it would be wrong to heal people and bring ones back to life. But it would be an issue, who comes back and who doesn't. Ones could get desperate to rob money and whatever to save their own children.

But that would not be the fault of the technology.

It would be wise to depend on God, trust Him for however things would work out.

"He who loves his life will lose it," Jesus says in John 12:25. So, using such technology could bring certain people to swifter loss, if they were using it with loving their lives. It might not be so guaranteed, after all. But that would not be the technology's fault.

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Well, the MAMU renders money obsolete in this hypothetical scenario. I feel that using the MAMU to resurrect someone from the dead is a bad idea, cos the machine would probably rip someone's soul from heaven after he/she is brought back to life. God does not want us to be separated from him. If someone dies, they die, and we say a prayer for them. A life in heaven is > a life on a planet, even a planet with advanced technology. Even if the technology allows people or Xa'na to live forever, life would be pretty sterile and boring, if one could live thousands of years.

com7fy8 said:

Yes, I would say not to take someone back from Heaven. However, I will offer how Jesus is not boring so we could stay here and not get bored and lonely. But God has His timing for how long each of us stays here to do each one's part.

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That is true, we could stay on earth for millennia with this machine, but nah, I do not want a MAMU machine to extend my life. This fictional tech would be borderline playing God. With a MAMU, one could hypothetically turn wine into blood. Then, how can we distinguish real Eucharistic miracles from MAMU creations?

jacks said:

If the beings on Xanadu are anything like earthlings, then making laws against the uses of MAMU, will be meaningless. All technology is used both for good and evil. If you can do it, someone will do it.

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Well, the Xa'na beings are supposed to be similar to us on Earth. Wars happen, terror exists and ethics are broken. Earthlings solved the ozone layer crisis in the 1980s-2000s, but the Xa'na destroyed their ozone layer by 2025 (for sake of the plots). Some countries are more peaceful compared to others. In the 2010s, a lot of countries on Xanadu decided to share similar laws and switch to one currency unit (similar to the EU), but not every country kept to it (similar to Brexit). By the 2040s, currency units slowly got phased out, but are still used for buying and selling genuine art and handmade items. For sake of argument, the MAMU has a built-in molecular scanner that can determine if something was made by another MAMU, or made by the hands of a Xa'na.

But yeah, if laws are made for the MAMU, someone's bound to break 'em. Just as laws are broken when it comes to computers or piracy.

com7fy8 said:

Well, God invented air, and air has been used in different ways by different people.


What about Melchizedek? The Bible says he has no "end of life" (in Hebrews 7:3). So, for all I know, Melchizedek is still living on this earth. Possibly he can go anywhere at any time, always having what he needs and doing what he wants.

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True, air has been used for inflating car tires, oxygen masks, SCUBA diving, wind power, internal combustion engines, etc.

Hmm, well we have not found Melchizedek yet in our interconnected world, so maybe he is a spiritual being? By the way, if you had access to the MAMU, and no laws were written about usage, would you use it to extend your life to millennia, or not use it? For me, I would not use the MAMU for extending my life, but would use it to make dinner cos I'm too lazy to cook all the time.

com7fy8 said:

lololololol

Jesus could have stayed here, before being crucified, or once He was resurrected. But there was purpose and timing of God.

So, I suppose I would simply submit to God and trust Him to guide me.

Melchizedek possibly would not let himself be identified. He could arrive out of nowhere and move on in a way not to be traced. Of course, ones believe Melchizedek was an appearing of Jesus who has no end of life.

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Same here. I would submit to God, and I trust him that he will take care of things, not some machine. Yes, I trust doctors, but not a machine. Plus, if the laws of the hypothetical land such as Xanadu or Earth say the MAMU should not be used directly to repair cells for life extension, I will follow those laws according to Romans 13*. By the way, this Melchizedek guy sound super cool. But we know for a fact that Jesus is alive in the heavens above.

*Romans 13:1-2 "Obey the government, for God is the One who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow."

Nithavela said:

Have you asked the Xa'na?

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I have not asked the Xa'na, as this was a thought experiment that I did, and the Xa'na are a race which I came up with to run thought experiments with, and write short sci-fi plots about. The Xa'na have the laws in place to prevent abuse, and misuse of this technology. Just as Europe has strict gun laws, the Xa'na would have strict laws on the MAMU. The technology was born out of necessity though, as travel to the nearest star system (2.1 light years from Xa'na home world) would take a 5-year round trip at 0.85 c in the late 2050s. A half-decade of food supply for half a dozen astronauts would be a little much, and require maybe a few tonnes of grains. The MAMU means only a small amount of food for emergency needs to be taken on the space mission, in case of a shipwide power outage, which could probably be fixed in a matter of days or fractions of a day, as the MAMU needs electricity.

As space nerds know, tech meant for space makes it back to Earth. JPL has a website listing 20 inventions meant for astronauts that are now used by everyday earthbound citizens: 20 Inventions We Wouldn't Have Without Space Travel