[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-45995-en":3,"doc-seo-45995-105":28,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":11,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":26,"read_time":27},45995,13056703019404,"Miles","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0",1,"Story & Novel","Michael Crichton - Prey","Prey by Michael Crichton examines artificial evolution and the fast emergence of human-designed organisms that can reproduce and evolve into forms beyond their original intent. Drawing on ideas about the biosphere’s complexity and unpredictable responses, the text argues for caution as new technologies—especially the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computer technology—enable self-replicating entities to enter the environment. It contrasts past environmental and technological overconfidence with uncertain consequences for humanity and ecological systems.","PREY--Michael Crichton-- (2002)  \n(Version 2003 .01 .25)  \nWithin fifty to a hundred years, a new class of organisms is likely toemerge . These organisms will be artificial in the sense that they will originally be designed by humans . However, they will reproduce, and will\"evolve\" into something other than their original form; they will be \"alive\"under any reasonable definition of the word . These organisms will evolve in a fundamentally different manner . . .The pace . . .will be extremely rapid . . .The impact on humanity and the biosphere could be enormous, larger than the industrial revolution, nuclear weapons, or environmental pollution . We must take steps now to shape the emergence of artificial organisms . . .  \n--Doyne Farmer and Alletta Belin, 1992  \nThere are many people, including myself, who are quite queasy about the consequences of this technology for the future .  \n--K . Eric Drexler, 1992  \nIntroduction  \nArtificial Evolution in the Twenty-first Century  \nThe notion that the world around us is continuously evolving is a platitude; we rarely grasp its full implications . We do not ordinarily think, for example, of an epidemic disease changing its character as the epidemic spreads . Nor do we think of evolution in plants and animals as occurring in a matter of days or weeks, though it does . And we do not ordinarily imagine the green world around us as a scene of constant, sophisticated chemical warfare, with plants producing pesticides in response to attack, and insects developing resistance . But that is what happens, too .  \nIf we were to grasp the true nature of nature-if we could comprehend the real meaning of evolution-then we would envision a world in which every living plant, insect, and animal species is changing at every instant, in response to every other living plant, insect, and animal . Whole populations of organisms are rising and falling, shifting and changing . This restless and perpetual change, as inexorable and unstoppable as the waves and tides, implies a world in which all human actions necessarily have uncertain effects . The total system we call the biosphere is so complicated that we cannot know in advance the consequences of anything that we do .1  \nThat is why even our most enlightened past efforts have had undesirable outcomes-either because we did not understand enough, or because the everchanging world responded to our actions in unexpected ways . From this standpoint, the history of environmental protection is as discouraging as the history of environmental pollution . Anyone who is willing to argue, for example, that the industrial policy of clear-cutting forests is more damaging than the ecological policy of fire suppression ignores the fact that both policies have been carried out with utter conviction, and both have altered the virgin forest irrevocably . Both provide ample evidence of the obstinate egotism that is a hallmark of human interaction with the environment .  \nThe fact that the biosphere responds unpredictably to our actions is not an argument for inaction . It is, however, a powerful argument for caution, and for adopting a tentative attitude toward all we believe, and all we do . Unfortunately, our species has demonstrated a striking lack of caution in the past . It is hard to imagine that we will behave differently in the future . We think we know what we are doing . We have always thought so . We never seem to acknowledge that we have been wrong in the past, and so might be wrong in  \nthe future . Instead, each generation writes off earlier errors as the result of bad thinking by less able minds-and then confidently embarks on fresh errors of its own .  \nWe are one of only three species on our planet that can claim to be selfaware,2 yet self-delusion may be a more significant characteristic of our kind .  \nSometime in the twenty-first century, our self-deluded recklessness will collide with our growing technological power . One area where this will occur is in t","cbCailKxKVJ14eKq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailKxKVJ14eKq","pdf",465622,188,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Artificial Evolution in the Twenty-first Century\n## Unpredictable Effects of Human Actions\n## Technological Convergence: Nanotech, Biotech, and Computer Tech","[{\"question\":\"What is the central premise about artificial organisms in the text?\",\"answer\":\"Artificial organisms would be designed by humans, reproduce, and evolve into forms different from their original design, effectively becoming “alive” under any reasonable definition.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the text emphasize that human actions can have uncertain effects?\",\"answer\":\"The biosphere is portrayed as too complex to predict outcomes, and it responds unpredictably to human actions, making earlier well-intentioned efforts produce undesirable results.\"},{\"question\":\"Which technologies are described as converging and enabling self-replicating entities?\",\"answer\":\"The text highlights the meeting point of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computer technology as sharing the ability to release self-replicating entities into the environment.\"}]",1783469507,290,{"code":4,"msg":29,"data":30},"ok",{"site_id":23,"language":22,"slug":31,"title":13,"keywords":32,"description":14,"schema_data":33,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":26},"michael-crichton-prey","",{"@graph":34,"@context":84},[35,52,67],{"@type":36,"itemListElement":37},"BreadcrumbList",[38,42,46,49],{"item":39,"name":40,"@type":41,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":43,"name":44,"@type":41,"position":45},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":41,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":41,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/michael-crichton-prey/45995/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":22,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":39,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-13","2026-07-08",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":11},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"What is the central premise about artificial organisms in the text?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"Artificial organisms would be designed by humans, reproduce, and evolve into forms different from their original design, effectively becoming “alive” under any reasonable definition.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"Why does the text emphasize that human actions can have uncertain effects?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"The biosphere is portrayed as too complex to predict outcomes, and it responds unpredictably to human actions, making earlier well-intentioned efforts produce undesirable results.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"Which technologies are described as converging and enabling self-replicating entities?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The text highlights the meeting point of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computer technology as sharing the ability to release self-replicating entities into the 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