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Originally Posted by Lathum
But don't you think it would be wise to get out in front of the problem before the technology becomes common, cheaper, and easier to use?
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I have mixed feelings about this, honestly. I've seen the documentary about the anarchist, and he makes some pretty compelling arguments (about gun control legislation and money in politics created by a false scarcity...i.e., it's just another way the Man grinds us down).
I'm pretty uncomfortable with the idea of a government banning ideas (or instructions about how to carry out ideas) in the name of public safety. Sure, guns seem like an easy mark...but what about if there was a technology that would let us mass-produce reliable pharmaceuticals or food items or (merely) desirable commodities easily and cheaply. I can foresee lots of folks who would be deeply interested in suppressing those in order to protect wealth mechanisms, and they'd do it in the name of national security (economy).
But then again, I've spent a lot of time reading Charlie Stross, too. I'm not sure the current model of Western democracy as it's currently constituted (and economically entangled) would survive a singularity scenario and the end of need/want.
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Originally Posted by miked
I know little about firearms so I have no idea. I know that you can get some fairly strong plastic polymers that print easily and cheap, but I have no idea if they can withstand the forces needed.
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In the same documentary, referenced above, I believe he'd gotten up to 500 rounds before the printed receiver cracked (in an AR-15 platform). He was disappointed and had decided to move on to printing large capacity magazines as a better way to get his point across. I've got rifles that I've owned for years that don't have 500 rounds through them (or even 100). That's not bad for a couple bucks in print media.