If someone came back in time and gave us replicator technology...

[Emnabtond]

If some time traveller came to us now in this world and gave us replicator technology just like in Star Trek. What do you think would happen to the world?

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Given human nature, the military would get its hand on it and replicate weapons.

 

[JonathonWally]

Given human nature, people would just replicate lots and lots of porn.

Fix'd that for you.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Given human nature, people would just replicate lots and lots of porn.

Fix'd that for you.

Well that goes without saying.

 

[trekkiedane]

Replicator technology without the ability to produce and distribute the massive amounts of raw energy they consume is worthless -so nothing would really happen.

If your time traveller also gave us that, and it was safe enough for us 'primitives' to use, the replicators would be the end of capitalism as we know it.

And there's an added environmental bonus as we won't have to farm or fish or log any more.

 

[Rii]

Replicator technology without the ability to produce and distribute the massive amounts of raw energy they consume is worthless -so nothing would really happen.

You couldn't just... feed it bits of the landscape?

 

[trekkiedane]

Replicator technology without the ability to produce and distribute the massive amounts of raw energy they consume is worthless -so nothing would really happen.

You couldn't just... feed it bits of the landscape?

Possibly, on the show they do feed it the dirty dishes after meals... I suppose we could feed replicators with all of our hazardous waste (for a start).

 

[The Castellan]

Given human nature, the military would get its hand on it and replicate weapons.

And keep is secret from us.

Replicator technology without the ability to produce and distribute the massive amounts of raw energy they consume is worthless -so nothing would really happen.

If your time traveller also gave us that, and it was safe enough for us 'primitives' to use, the replicators would be the end of capitalism as we know it.

And there's an added environmental bonus as we won't have to farm or fish or log any more.

So I see no problems with any of this.

Now we gotta hardness zero point energy, or free energy, we'd be perfect.

 

[Harry Palmer]

If some time traveller came to us now in this world and gave us replicator technology just like in Star Trek. What do you think would happen to the world?

First off Coca Cola et al. would trademark the molecular structures of their products. And Pirate's Bay would expand to include torrent files for molecular structures.

 

[RandyS]

The rich would control it like they do every other damn thing.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

If some time traveller came to us now in this world and gave us replicator technology just like in Star Trek. What do you think would happen to the world?

First off Coca Cola et al. would trademark the molecular structures of their products. And Pirate's Bay would expand to include torrent files for molecular structures.

Yeah, I see things like that happening. Assuming it works with very little energy use (which seems implied on occasion), it would probably wreck our capitalist system. If it's kept in the hands of few, it would probably allow them to live more luxurious lives, while basic staples for subsistence is handed out to everyone else. This in turn would remove the need for people to grow cereal crops, which would ruin the livelihoods of many farmers (who would have to live on this replicated food handed out).

In other words, standards of living would increase on average, but our entire system would come crashing down.

 

[trekkiedane]

Replicator technology without the ability to produce and distribute the massive amounts of raw energy they consume is worthless -so nothing would really happen.

If your time traveller also gave us that, and it was safe enough for us 'primitives' to use, the replicators would be the end of capitalism as we know it.

And there's an added environmental bonus as we won't have to farm or fish or log any more.

So I see no problems with any of this.

I for one welcome our replicator overlords

 

[FPAlpha]

Corporations would find a way to trademark everything so even if you have a magical machine that can produce almost anything from mere energy you wouldn't be able to legally.