“If we ever get to the point where script kiddies can release dangerous gray goo, we’re probably doomed –since it’ll surely be harder to stop goo than to stop slow-moving, slow-thinking meat robots from pushing the wrong buttons, says Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Director of Research Chris Phoenix.

“But we will have much more severe dangers to deal with before that point. Like nano-arms races with weapons much more rapidly destructive than gray goo — and much more controllable, hence easier to justify using.

“A gray goo will be very hard to build. It’ll need a metabolism, a fabricator, a control computer with full blueprints, and an environmental shell with chemical/mechanical interfaces… all in a very small package. Note that this means that there’s no way a nanofactory can accidentally mutate into a gray goo. If gray goo happens, it will be deliberate.”