#380 – Neil Gershenfeld: Self-Replicating Robots and the Future of Fabrication

About this episode

<p>Neil Gershenfeld is the director of the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>LMNT</b>: <a href="https://drinkLMNT.com/lex">https://drinkLMNT.com/lex</a> to get free sample pack<br /> &#8211; <b>NetSuite</b>: <a href="http://netsuite.com/lex">http://netsuite.com/lex</a> to get free product tour<br /> &#8211; <b>BetterHelp</b>: <a href="https://betterhelp.com/lex">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a> to get 10% off</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Neil&#8217;s Website: <a href="http://ng.cba.mit.edu/">http://ng.cba.mit.edu/</a><br /> MIT Center for Bits and Atoms: <a href="https://cba.mit.edu/">https://cba.mit.edu/</a><br /> Fab Foundation: <a href="https://fabfoundation.org/">https://fabfoundation.org/</a><br /> Fab Lab community: <a href="https://fablabs.io/">https://fablabs.io/</a><br /> Fab Academy: <a href="https://fabacademy.org/">https://fabacademy.org/</a><br /> Fab City: <a href="https://fab.city/">https://fab.city/</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (05:37) &#8211; What Turing got wrong<br /> (11:02) &#8211; MIT Center for Bits and Atoms<br /> (24:08) &#8211; Digital logic<br /> (30:44) &#8211; Self-assembling robots<br /> (41:12) &#8211; Digital fabrication<br /> (52:07) &#8211; Self-reproducing machine<br /> (59:53) &#8211; Trash and fabrication<br /> (1:04:49) &#8211; Lab-made bioweapons<br /> (1:09:04) &#8211; Genome<br /> (1:20:56) &#8211; Quantum computing<br /> (1:25:28) &#8211; Microfluidic bubble computation<br /> (1:30:49) &#8211; Maxwell&#8217;s demon<br /> (1:39:35) &#8211; Consciousness<br /> (1:46:35) &#8211; Cellular automata<br /> (1:51:07) &#8211; Universe is a computer<br /> (1:55:53) &#8211; Advice for young people<br /> (2:05:10) &#8211; Meaning of life</p>