http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-want-to-build-a-super-fast-self-replicating-computer-that-grows-as-it-computes
Scientists Want to Build a Super-Fast, Self-Replicating Computer That "Grows as It Computes"
Scientists say it's possible to build a new type of self-replicating computer that replaces silicon chips with processors made from DNA molecules, and it would be faster than any other form of computer ever proposed - even quantum computers.
Called a nondeterministic universal Turing machine (NUTM), it's predicted that the technology could execute all possible algorithms at once by taking advantage of DNA's ability to replicate almost perfect copies of itself over billions of years.
The basic idea is that our current electronic computers are based on a finite number of silicon chips, and we're fast approaching the limit for how many we can actually fit in our machines.
To address this limitation, researchers are currently working on making quantum computers a reality - super-powerful devices that replace the bits of electronic computers with quantum-entangled particles called qubits.
Unlike regular bits that can only take on the form of 1 or 0 in the binary code, qubits can take the form of 0, 1, or a superposition of the two simultaneously, which allows them to perform many different calculations at once.
Obviously this would result in a huge boost in speed, but quantum computers are an incredibly difficult thing to get right, because of how complicated it is to create the exact conditions for not one quantum-entangled particle, but a whole lot of them.
Despite concerted efforts all over the world, no one has managed to build a fully functioning quantum computer.
But the secret third option here is a DNA-based machine that gets all the benefits of a quantum computer, without the headache of quantum weirdness, because it's based on DNA doing what DNA does best - replicating.
"DNA is an excellent medium for information processing and storage," the team from the University of Manchester in the UK explains.
"It is very stable, as the sequencing of ancient DNA demonstrates. It can also reliably be copied, and many genes have remained virtually unchanged for billions of years."
To give you an idea of the difference such a device could make in the world, imagine you've got a computer program searching a maze, and it reaches a fork in the road.
A regular electronic computer would have to decide which path to follow, but a DNA-based computer wouldn't need to choose - it could replicate itself and follow both paths at the same time.
With both paths covered, the program would figure out which one leads to the end of the maze far quicker than an electronic computer that could only test one at a time.
"Our computer's ability to grow as it computes makes it faster than any other form of computer, and enables the solution of many computational problems previously considered impossible," says one of the team, Ross D. King.
"Quantum computers are an exciting other form of computer, and they can also follow both paths in a maze, but only if the maze has certain symmetries, which greatly limits their use."
Not only that, but imagine no longer being constrained by the physical limits of using silicon chips, which are pretty damn small right now, but are nowhere near the size of a single DNA molecule.
"As DNA molecules are very small, a desktop computer could potentially utilise more processors than all the electronic computers in the world combined - and therefore outperform the world's current fastest supercomputer, while consuming a tiny fraction of its energy," says King.
While DNA-based computers have been proposed since the 1990s, King and his team say this is the first time the feasibility of a DNA-based nondeterministic universal Turing machine (NUTM) has been established.
"We demonstrate that this design works using both computational modelling and in vitro molecular biology experimentation," the team reports.
"The current design has limitations, such as restricted error-correction. However, it opens up the prospect of engineering NUTM-based computers able to outperform all standard computers on important practical problems."
The researchers propose using DNA molecules to represent information based on the four-character genetic alphabet - A [adenine], G [guanine], C [cytosine], and T [thymine] - rather than the binary alphabet of 1s and 0s.
They say that regular computers - which are classified as universal Turing machines (UTM) - can be converted into nondeterministic universal Turing machines (NUTM) using a programming language called Thue.
Invented by software engineer John Colagioia in early 2000, Thue programming language can take strings of alphabet symbols and rewrite them in different orders to create completely separate strings for a self-replicating form of data processing.
"The application of a Thue rule to a string therefore produces a new string - equivalent to change of state in a UTM," the researchers explain.
Because multiple Thue rules can be applied to a single string, and individual Thue rules can be applied to multiple positions in a string, the computing possibilities are virtually endless.
The team has also demonstrated that DNA is physically strong enough to act as processors in this set-up - something that previous experiments have also shown - and say it's now up to someone to actually build this thing for real.
That's probably many years off yet, but if the researchers are correct in their assumptions, we've just been given a roadmap to the sickest, strangest, and most intimidating computer system ever.
I hope we're ready for it.
The research has been published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, and you can read it for free at arXiv.org.
FRAT: Think about the scene at the end of the movie "Lucy" when she self replicates and converts into a massive, supercomputer. That technology is currently being developed.
it's predicted that the technology could execute all possible algorithms at once
So basically, it will be God.
Checkmate, atheists!
Stargate SG-1 Replicators
Scythrop -it's predicted that the technology could execute all possible algorithms at once
So basically, it will be God.
Checkmate, atheists!
I for one welcome our future, computer overlords.
We may all be in trouble though...
Scientists like Stephen Hawkings and Chris Bishop (Cambridge, Microsoft Research) and others have expressed concerns that AI poses a potential threat against humanity.
A future "Terminator" scenario is possible.
Steve4192 - Stargate SG-1 Replicators
Fascinating. Science fiction does often accurately predict technology realities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_(Stargate)#Technology
In the show, Standard Replicators are composed of modular blocks, comparable to individual computers, that come together to perform tasks. According to Thor, the blocks generate a "reactive modulating monopolar energy field" that allows them to self-assemble into various configurations. Each Replicator block contains two million "isolated keron pathways".[2] All Replicators are interconnected via a subspace network. Replicator blocks can assemble into any form needed;[3] the most commonly encountered shape is a small "bug" with four limbs and "wings" on its back. The bug can upgrade itself into a larger "queen" to facilitate replication.[4] Large numbers of Replicators can form into starships, which are first seen in "New Order". In "Enemies", many Replicator bugs assemble into a larger structure to enhance the hyperdrive of a Goa'uld mothership. In Stargate: The Ark of Truth, the Replicators form a skeletal structure that implants into Marrick's body, to gain access to his mind. The Replicator structure continues to function even after Marrick's body is destroyed.
The main Replicator directives in the show are to multiply and to assimilate new technologies. Replicators utilize whatever materials are available; in "Small Victories", the Replicators created from a Russian submarine are made of steel and susceptible to rusting. Multiple blocks are required for replication,[2] and the process requires a large amount of energy.[4] Replicators are attracted to the most advanced technologies available, thus they ignore the relatively crude technology of the Earth ship Prometheus in "Unnatural Selection". Replicators adapt very quickly to new technologies and they are capable of enhancing technology they encounter beyond its original specifications.[3][5] Replicators are impervious to all known handheld energy weapons, including zat'nik'tels and staff weapons. They can be shattered by projectile firearms, though given time and relative proximity to each other, the blocks will re-assemble. Replicator bugs produce a corrosive liquid ("Replicator spray") capable of dissolving through any known material but concrete and glass,[6] including the nigh-invulnerable armor of Kull Warriors.[7] In close quarters, they can produce an electrical discharge to kill their opponents.[2] Replicator bugs are strong for their size; a single one held open the hydraulic blast doors of the SGC's gate room in "Reckoning".
We're getting closer to fulfilling our purpose as a species.
Let me put it this way, Mr. Amor. The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error.
If it gets us to the final frontier then idgaf if were all wiped out.
That's all well and good but does it come with snake?
Interesting
Do you want Skynet?
Because this is how you get Skynet.
None So Blind -I think whether we want it or not Skynet is coming.Do you want Skynet?
Because this is how you get Skynet.
This is insane. Do scientists not listen to the theories of their peers? Or have they been listening all along, course correcting their research to lead us to our downfall.
haha pretty scary potential
paradigmer -Steve4192 - Stargate SG-1 Replicators
Fascinating. Science fiction does often accurately predict technology realities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_(Stargate)#Technology
In the show, Standard Replicators are composed of modular blocks, comparable to individual computers, that come together to perform tasks. According to Thor, the blocks generate a "reactive modulating monopolar energy field" that allows them to self-assemble into various configurations. Each Replicator block contains two million "isolated keron pathways".[2] All Replicators are interconnected via a subspace network. Replicator blocks can assemble into any form needed;[3] the most commonly encountered shape is a small "bug" with four limbs and "wings" on its back. The bug can upgrade itself into a larger "queen" to facilitate replication.[4] Large numbers of Replicators can form into starships, which are first seen in "New Order". In "Enemies", many Replicator bugs assemble into a larger structure to enhance the hyperdrive of a Goa'uld mothership. In Stargate: The Ark of Truth, the Replicators form a skeletal structure that implants into Marrick's body, to gain access to his mind. The Replicator structure continues to function even after Marrick's body is destroyed.
The main Replicator directives in the show are to multiply and to assimilate new technologies. Replicators utilize whatever materials are available; in "Small Victories", the Replicators created from a Russian submarine are made of steel and susceptible to rusting. Multiple blocks are required for replication,[2] and the process requires a large amount of energy.[4] Replicators are attracted to the most advanced technologies available, thus they ignore the relatively crude technology of the Earth ship Prometheus in "Unnatural Selection". Replicators adapt very quickly to new technologies and they are capable of enhancing technology they encounter beyond its original specifications.[3][5] Replicators are impervious to all known handheld energy weapons, including zat'nik'tels and staff weapons. They can be shattered by projectile firearms, though given time and relative proximity to each other, the blocks will re-assemble. Replicator bugs produce a corrosive liquid ("Replicator spray") capable of dissolving through any known material but concrete and glass,[6] including the nigh-invulnerable armor of Kull Warriors.[7] In close quarters, they can produce an electrical discharge to kill their opponents.[2] Replicator bugs are strong for their size; a single one held open the hydraulic blast doors of the SGC's gate room in "Reckoning".
Yep.
The replicators were my favorite 'villains' in the series ... until they ruined them by having them get so advanced they could take human form and started having them played by actors instead of freaky little spider-bots.
Scythrop -it's predicted that the technology could execute all possible algorithms at once
So basically, it will be God.
Checkmate, atheists!
The scientists didn't predict that. There are infinitely many algorithms, but only finitely many possible DNA molecules, and no DNA molecule can execute all algorithms at once.
What the author probably meant is that the computer could try all possible paths in the maze at once, which it could, unless the maze were too large, in which case the number of required DNA molecules would not fit in the available space.
But DNA computers are parallel computers, not non-deterministic universal Turing machines. Calling it a non-deterministic UTM is sensationalism. What's the difference between an NUTM and a parallel computer, given that both "branch out" during the computation to try multiple paths at once? There is no upper bound on the number of paths that an NUTM can take at the same time, because it's an abstraction. A parallel computer, however, is limited by the number of processors it has, so a parallel computer cannot solve an NP-complete problem in polynomial time.