Societal implications of the replicator

I have a feeling this has been discussed before, but the hamsters didn’t turn anything up. So at the risk of umm replicating the thread, here goes…

So let’s say we invent the replicator that can create a perfect copy of any object instantly. They might be expensive at first, but soon they come down to the price of a small color tv. They’re everywhere, almost everyone has them.

So… will we need to work anymore? As long as we have an original object we can make as many copies as we need. We have all the foods and material goods we need at our disposal. The only necessities left to pay for is energy and space (rent, mortage etc…). Of course many people will still work in order to pay for housing and recieve services, but with the necessities of life available in unlimited quantities for virtually free, I imagine a lot of people would choose not to. If this did happen, would it be a good thing?

OR, would we see something like software licensing. Want to make a Dole banana? Great, just pay them a licensing fee. A new pair of Levi’s? Sure just send in your registration.

Even with Star Trek replicators, you need some sort of input. You still need the original or a copy of what you wanted to replicate. You need enuf energy to produce that and if you are thinking of creating matter from energy, it takes quite a lot of power to materialize a banana. You’d have to send starships into space to look for new sources of energy. If you use the old fashioned replicators (version 1.5) it requires matter to be disintegrated into its component parts and re-integrated into what you are trying tp replicate which still requires an abundant power source but ist a grand way to recycle.

Certain complex molecules or compounds cannot be replicated because of the radioactivity, subspace interferance or it just doesnt scan well, which means you need new sensors and tricorders. Cant replicate what you dont have yet.

It would require tremendous amount of energy to create very large machinery and would be more efficient to create it the old fashioned way and machine it.

Certain chemical bonds cannot be replicated as well because the process of replication may alter its chemical reactions. Thats why certain foods dont taste quite right from a replicator… uh so they say… medicines also need to be processed manually, at least partially.

and finally the music industry will sue for license infringement and replication will go the way of napster…into lawyer hell…

ha, thats silly… it wouldn’t “quickly come down to the price of a color tv” once you have built one… even if it costs a trillion bajillion dollars… the second one will be free…

Author Joe Haldeman covered this in the novel “The Forever Peace” where nano-forges can create just about anything. You tell it what you want, it tells you what raw materials it needs, and bingo. In the novel, the US is a Universal Welfare State where some National service is recquired, but after that no one needs to work. All necessities, including some entertainment, are free. But who controls the nano-forges? What about countries that can’t afford to make one? And are necessities enough?

So for the replicator question…Who gets/controls one? What limits does it have? I think we’d just have a whole host of new problems.

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