Dr Williams, too, works in nanotechnology - but in a different field, trying to create computers out of the same microscopic components that would be used in the nanomachines. Most lay observers would find his work just as arcane. It documents some very scary scenarios that are possible but concludes that they can be addressed if we are prepared . Disbelief by individuals, such as Dr. Williams, is precisely what Eric was trying to combat by discussing such scenarios Engines of Creation . Individuals in our era will not be able to maintain that they were not warned about the potential dangers that could be created.
Bacteria are self-replicating systems that do contain billions of atoms.
If one wants to ask scientists about a feature of a technology, one should determine what the critical aspects of those technologies are and who has knowledge about them. If so, nanomachinery may be consigned to the history books as an interesting technological diversion. Actually, the assembly of modified microorganisms is quite inexpensive compared with many other forms of scientific research. To sequence genomes such as the human genome requires the creation of millions of novel microorganisms, each of which carries a small fragment of the genome being sequenced. He is probably one of the smartest people on the planet and his ideas will end up saving millions or billions of lives.