[mostlysimilar]

Incredible that we've been writing speculative fiction about this for decades and still we sleepwalk right into it. I'd love to be wrong, but I think we're all still too divided and self-interested for this kind of technology to be successfully integrated. A lot of people are going to suffer.

[salad-tycoon]

It’s not just sci fi. It’s has already happened in past with construction. Things like pyramids and certain cathedrals and what not are no longer possible even with machines. At least this is what I’ve read and heard, I’m not actually an engineer or architect.

Tangent, I’m looking for some sci fi about this topic. Any suggestions?

[veqq]

No. Things like Greek fire or Roman cement aren't possible - because we don't know the precise mixture or formulation involved. Many old descriptions mean we don't know how to do it, because they are very vague.

But we can technically do much better waterproof concrete or whatever - however our incentives are also not aligned in the same ways.

Here's a tangential link to monks building a Gothic cathedral with modern machines: https://carmelitegothic.com/

[pixl97]

Actually we've recreated Roman concrete just recently. It appears a quicklime like substance in the concrete gives it a self healing property l