As I finally got around to watching Oppenheimer tonight, I found my mind wandering, wondering what a modern day Manhattan Project would focus on. I settled on achieving AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) as something that can exceed human intelligence and be used a weapon would surely usher in a new world just like the nuclear age did.
Meanwhile, what would the leading physicists of the day be working on if not the splitting of the atom and the creation of the atomic bomb? Fusion power perhaps so that we can have cheap, limitless energy? Or perhaps coming up with a theory of everything and figuring out what dark matter is.
The point is that there’s still plenty for modern day scientists to discover and create. In fact, we may one day even create artificial life forms to help us manage our health.
Science Alert explains:
“One day in the future, rather than having to swallow medicine to cure your ills, you might find yourself swallowing an artificial life form instead – one that can busy itself inside your body to analyze or remove diseases.
It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but a team from the University of Southern Denmark and Kent State University in the US has detailed how specially-designed, hybrid molecules of DNA and protein could eventually form the basis of these artificial life forms.
The idea is that the tiny engineered bio-bots could be coded to target specific health issues, whether that’s delivering particular kinds of drugs or stimulating certain response cells from the body’s immune system.
‘In nature, most organisms have natural enemies, but some do not,’ says biotechnologist Chenguang Lou from the University of Southern Denmark.
‘For example, some disease-causing viruses have no natural enemy. It would be a logical step to create an artificial life form that could become an enemy to them.’
The researchers envision creating these artificial allies in the form of engineered viruses, bacteria and cells.”
Perhaps if we really did have a modern day Manhattan Project focused on artificial intelligence these artificial life forms would get discussed there too. Either way, it’s clear that the artificial age is the next nuclear age. And its almost upon us.
Is the future of medicine Artificial Life Forms?
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