Xenobots are tiny robots made from living cells and they are getting quite good at self-replicating (in a petri dish). Just over a hundred years after the word robot was introduced to the world in a Czech play, the sci-fi vision of synthetic lifeforms seems closer to reality than ever. So, do we marvel at this scientific breakthrough and rejoice in all its potential (like designing and building bespoke organs for people in need) or do we dare dip into that sci-fi pool of catastrophic doomsday scenarios that all stem from the ungodly combination of ‘life’ and ‘robot’.
According to Sam Kriegman and Douglas Blackiston, the researchers responsible for the xenobots, the answer is a little bit of both. The potential for these tiny bots is virtually endless, but their existence also poses important philosophical and ethical questions about the limits humans should place on AI and technology in coming decades.
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