Molecule-sized machines, possibly self-replicating, are quite common in sf stories and films, and have several names, one of which is nanites. They might be used for medical purposes to clean arteries or kill cancer cells, they could provide new competences, and it has even been suggested that they could provide a means for telepathy. But if they are selfreplicating they might turn everything into ”grey goo”. The panel will talk about nanites as presented in sf, what they could be used for and which role they play in stories.

This panel was recorded at Swecon 2019 – Replicon in Västerås Sweden

Participants: Ann Olsson Rousset, Sara@BooksOfDoom, Tommy Persson and Mattias Kuldkepp (moderator)

The music is from Sands Of Time (Psychadelik Pedestrian) / CC BY-NC 3.0