grey goo

English

Alternative forms

• gray goo (chiefly US)

Etymology

Coined by Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation.

Noun

grey goo (uncountable)

1. A hypothetical end-of-the-world event involving nanotechnology, in which out-of-control self-replicating nanobots consume all life on Earth (or another planet or moon).
   • 2007 August 24, Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary‎^[1], archived from the original on 11 May 2024:

     "Our first priority has to be quarantining Xinchub's body, and examining any Yomingians who may have handled it. I don't think we're headed for a grey-goo scenario here, but we'd all feel really bad if the local biosphere got consumed by nanobots after we left."

   • 2023 October 22, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: SCP-7759 - T is for "Transmission"” (14:43 from the start), in The Exploring Series‎^[2], retrieved 15 May 2024:

     […] Through this, they learn more, and manage to reverse-engineer the ion drives of the drone, allowing them to move the station very rapidly towards Earth. On their way, they manage to send signals to multiple Foundation facilities, overriding them and using their fabrication plants to make new nanomachines. At this rate, it won't be long before there's a good old-fashioned grey-goo scenario, and humanity and the Earth are similarly consumed.