Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh
What for? If you need that, you fabricate robots or bioroids to do this stuff. Even if the setting somehow lacks decent AI, the nanotech revolution, which is required for nanofabs, also enables construction of bioroids.
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It's all about price points, if a robot/bioroid costs you $50k to purchase from you local corner nanofac which you don't have, but you can pay Joe down the street $500 a week, you're going to hire Joe until you have a steady enough income to get financing to buy the robot, even though once you do own it you'll only be paying $100 a week in upkeep for it.
On top of purchase price and weekly upkeep for the robot/bioroid, financing is also a massive factor, if it takes the place of a single $500 a week worker, then at car interest rates it'd take 40 years to pay for itself, which is a bad investment, even if it takes the place of three $500 a week workers it'd only pay for itself in 5 years which is also a dubious investment.
Same applies for manufacturing something on site vs shipping it in from off-world, if your nanofac is going to be more expensive to manufacture on-site due to limited production capability, product may be made off-planet in a richer world's bigger nanofac.