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"The answer to the problem of information overload on the Net is reputations… engineer a system called a reputation server."
- Neal Stephenson

Self-Assembling Robots  
  Robots with the capacity to assemble themselves from components, and then switch themselves on.  

This is a relatively early, explicit reference to this idea in sf.

The Sheem Robots were modeled after living animals of various worlds, and the Spider is considered to have been the most perfect of them all. This is the last specimen still in existence. You asked whether I had assembled it recently... Yes, I have. It's a most simple process...

The captain swung the gun up, pointed it at Yango's chest.

"What are you hiding?" he asked.

"Why, the activating mechanism," Yango frowned puzzledly. "I understood you wished to see it assembled. You see, the Sheen Robots assemble themselves when the signal to to it is registered by them."

Technovelgy from The Witches of Karres, by James Schmitz.
Published by Not known in 1966
Additional resources -

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Witches of Karres
  More Ideas and Technology by James Schmitz
  Tech news articles related to The Witches of Karres
  Tech news articles related to works by James Schmitz

Self-Assembling Robots-related news articles:
  - CkBot Modular Robot Self-Assembles, Picks Gait
  - Self-Assembling Robot Swarm
  - Robot Lamp Assembles Itself (Via 3D Printer)

Articles related to Robotics
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
Robot Janitors Get To Work
Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons

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Science Fiction in the News

Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'

Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'

Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.

Robot Janitors Get To Work
'A few mechanical cleaning devices crept here and there...'

Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
This is nothing new for science fiction fans!

Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
'That little robot rabbit knew what it was talking about...'

LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'

Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'

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'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'

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'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'

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