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by SCHiM 3598 days ago
Well is it? At some point, either we become like machines, or the machines become like us. There is a limit to how many times we can redraw the lines.
1 comments

The common distinction between machine and life seems arbitrary. Suppose for instance you had essentially infinite resources to design a machine that self-replicates by stealing blood from mammals, etc etc. You would end up with something very much like the mosquito. Why is it a machine only when man designs it?

This is perhaps more apparent with viruses. They aren't living per se, but are halfway there. The assertion that the virus is not a machine seems to be a difference without a distinction.

The expression is "a distinction without a difference"
Oh yes! Thanks.