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Worthless: 3D printing is nothing but a nerd fad that won't leave hobbyist workshops.

6 (3%)

Unimportant: 3D printing will become common but won't be useful for much other than tiny full plastic objects.

8 (4%)

Minor Importance: 3D printing will function as a light industry that will coexist with existing manufacturing methodologies.

43 (21.4%)

Moderate Importance: 3D printing will challenge and slowly replace a large number of existing manufacturing businesses.

104 (51.7%)

Major Importance: 3D printing will completely flip the table on conventional manufacturing and quickly destroy existing business for anything you can make with them.

20 (10%)

Critical: 3D printing will disrupt conventional ideals of work and money so much that they collapse and are replaced in a paradigm shift.

20 (10%)

Total Members Voted: 199

[Loud Whispers]

Haha, I love how some people are so terrified of these stupid drone aircraft. Now they are imagining these horrible autonomous, mind-reading killing machines just being summoned from the ether in endless numbers. Good stuff.

Every step that takes man away from war and replaces it with a faceless drone which kills without consequence, I will oppose.

[sneakey pete]

But war with men? awesome, full support to that

[Yoink]

But war with men? awesome, full support to that

Agreed.

[Loud Whispers]

But war with men? awesome, full support to that

It is a whole deal better than a war fought by the defenseless against the uncaring.


*EDIT

I can now fully relate to the bishops who tried to ban the arbalest, because it took chivalry out of war. History sets Fun precedents.

[Mech#4]

If it was a war of drones against drones with no one getting caught in the crossfire, more agreeable but I can think of the example from World War 1 where distancing commanders from the soldiers on the front ends up with little moral consequence for your actions.

Though, my first suggestion probably won't happen unless it was a war that lasted until resources ran out for one side. It's much easier to target the population to spur thoughts of surrender sadly.

[kaijyuu]

We should ban war and replace it with miniature Gundam Fights.

[Loud Whispers]

Hang on, ignoring the ethical concerns - what impact will this have on manufacturing? This could screw over the military-industrial complex. I'd say that'd count for 'game changer' on the pols.

[Frumple]

I can now fully relate to the bishops who tried to ban the arbalest, because it took chivalry out of war. History sets Fun precedents.

... wasn't that line of complaints just a thin facade over th'fact they were up in arms (heh) about peasants and whatnot actually having a chance vs. heavily equipped and trained nobility?

Drones and such would... actually probably be an exact reversal of that trend, as (even) more military power gets centralized in the hands of those controlling the resources (i.e. drone production) and the underclass's capability to meaningfully defend itself (which is mostly a joke anyway, but still) erodes even further.

[Sheb]

Well, homemade drones are a thing too. IIRC, there is at least one guy already that wanted to send a explosive drone flying into the white house.

[Loud Whispers]

... Wasn't that line of complaints just a thin facade over th'fact they were up in arms (heh) about peasants and whatnot actually having a chance vs. heavily equipped and trained nobility?

Not exactly. Peasants fought peasants and Knights fought Knights. Even with longbows, at least there was a great deal of skill and strength required to use them. With crossbows not so much.

[10ebbor10]

... Wasn't that line of complaints just a thin facade over th'fact they were up in arms (heh) about peasants and whatnot actually having a chance vs. heavily equipped and trained nobility?

Not exactly. Peasants fought peasants and Knights fought Knights. Even with longbows, at least there was a great deal of skill and strength required to use them. With crossbows not so much.

Cavalery was often used against enemy infantery though. Sometimes with disastrous results, as the cavalery charged through their own infantery.

On a side note, a properly programmed and armed drone makes far less civilian casualties then a human soldier. Sadly, pinpoint accurate weapons and advanced FoF targetting mechanisms are often not a priority.

[DWC]

Well, if they ever develop practical weaponized laser systems, the drones could just zap whoever they like with pinpoint accuracy. No messy explosives or errant bullets to generate all the negative press.

Or maybe tiny, insect like micro drones that poison their target or a fist-sized one that can silently hover into a house and shoot a bullet at them in their sleep or something.

Warfare in the future will probably become pretty humane in terms of minimizing collateral damage. Well, maybe for low-end counterinsurgencies the sort. Warring nation states would have full-spectrum jammers that'd defeat drones.

[10ebbor10]

Lasers are, by design principle, inefficient against biological target. Also quite dangerous, and the effects are quite horrific. (Really, this is a weapon that relies on cooking it's target.)

[Loud Whispers]

Every step that takes man away from war and replaces it with a faceless drone which kills without consequence, I will oppose.

You reminded me of the Self-Aware Colony from Alpha Centauri.

Indeed. If they were being killed by people, there would be still that notion of evil or at the very least, understanding of some sorts.
That elimination of all that is human, in the moral sense and the literal sense...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Past MSH confirms A.C. was in fact a documentary from the future.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I still occasionally get pulled into debates over that comment. Most recently I was accused of being historically inaccurate as to the motivations of Ned Ludd.

Though upon further reflection you could think of Miriam as a kind of Luddite, in the sense that while Ned Ludd tried to destroy stocking frames to keep his job Miriam is trying to destroy transhuman technologies in order to keep humanity around.