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"Powering Civilization Sustainably" is the title of the January science essay by CRN's Chris Phoenix.
A fleet of 100 billion light-weight auto-piloted aircraft, each making contact with the Earth for a few seconds every few days to transfer stored power, would be able to provide the full 10^15 W that the Earth's civilization would be able to use sustainably...
How's that for a teaser!
Read the full essay here.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics
The latest edition of the C-R-Newsletter has been posted on our main website.
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Feature Article on Nanofactories
CRN Goes to Switzerland
New Nanosurgery Paper
Productive Nanosystems
CRN Task Force Update
Best Books on Nanotechnology
Future Brief Polls
Markets, Governments, and Freedom
CRN Goes to Canada
Milestones & Moving Forward
Feature Essay: Powering Civilization Sustainably
Read the whole newsletter here — and sign up for a free subscription here.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology future
A special report titled "Nanofactories: Glimpsing the future of process technology" is the cover article for the January 2006 issue of CleanRooms Magazine. The lengthy article, subtitled “Making sense of the molecular machine shop,” quotes extensively from CRN research director Chris Phoenix, as well as from nanotech researchers Robert A. Freitas Jr. and Ralph Merkle.
This is a must read!
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
Upper Canada College in Toronto, Ontario, is the site of the World Affairs Conference, a student-run event that annually attracts approximately 700 teenagers from grades 10 to 12. This year's theme is "Blueprint for a New World."
CRN executive director Mike Treder will make a presentation at the conference during a session titled "Technology: Are We Watching It or Is It Watching Us?" If you’re in the Toronto area, and especially if you’re a high school student, we hope to see you there on February 13th and 14th.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
A little nano night fiction, from Cory Doctorow (of BoingBoing)...
The coppers smashed my father's printer when I was eight. I remember the hot, cling-film-in-a-microwave smell of it, and Da's look of ferocious concentration as he filled it with fresh goop, and the warm, fresh-baked feel of the objects that came out of it.
The rest of this short-short story about the social impacts of nanofactory technology is here.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
If you check the long list below, you'll see that Chris Phoenix and I are both on the Advisory Board of this new group. We think it's a good sign that so many "leading thinkers" are willing to be connected with a organization that supports efforts to understand the implications of molecular manufacturing (in addition to other nanotechnologies).
Here is their initial press release:
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Nanoethics Advisory Board Formed to Tackle Difficult Issues
Leading experts worldwide to help guide research on nanotechnology’s social impact
SANTA BARBARA, CA – January 23, 2006 – The Nanoethics Group today announced appointing a distinguished list of members to its Advisory Board, as public interest grows concerning nanotechnology’s impact on ethics and society. These new members represent many diverse fields – such as business, education, science, economics, law, medicine, ethics, and more – to provide guidance on an equally-broad range of important issues.
The Nanoethics Group’s Advisory Board is comprised of approximately 30 leading thinkers from around the world, including:
- Rosalyn Berne, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Science, Technology and Society, University of Virginia
- Nick Bostrom, Ph.D., Director, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University (UK)
- Rafael Capurro, Ph.D., Professor of Information Science and Information Ethics, Stuttgart Media University (HdM) (Germany); Member of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies to the European Commission
- Robert A. Freitas Jr., J.D., Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Manufacturing
- Robin Hanson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, George Mason University
- C. Christopher Hook, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Consultant in Hematology and Medical Ethics, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
- Timothy Hsieh, J.D., Ph.D., Chairman, Nanotechnology Committee, Section of Science & Technology, American Bar Association; Partner at Min, Hsieh & Hack LLP
- James Hughes, Ph.D., Bioethicist and Sociologist, Trinity College; Executive Director, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
- Richard A.L. Jones, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield (UK)
- Fabrice Jotterand, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Humanities, The Brody School of Medicine
- Ray Kurzweil, Founder and CEO, Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
- Glenn McGee, Ph.D., John A. Balint Endowed Chair of Medical Ethics and Director, Alden March Bioethics Institute; Editor-in-Chief, The American Journal of Bioethics
- F. Mark Modzelewski, Co-Founder of NanoBusiness Alliance and Vice President of NanoDynamics Inc.
- James Moor, Ph.D., Professor and Philosophy Dept. Chair, Dartmouth College
- Daniel Moore, C.Phil., Georgia Institute of Technology
- Chris Phoenix, M.S., Director of Research, Center for Responsible Nanotechnology
- Fabio Salamanca-Buentello, M.D., Researcher, Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics
- Wrye Sententia, Ph.D., Director, Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics
- Sebastian Sethe, Sheffield Institute of Biotechnological Law and Ethics, University of Sheffield (UK)
- Aldrin Sweeney, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Science Education, University of Central Florida
- Charles Tahan, Ph.D., National Science Foundation Distinguished Research Fellow, University of Cambridge (UK)
- Tihamer Toth-Fejel, M.S.E.E., Research Engineer, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
- Mike Treder, Executive Director, Center for Responsible Nanotechnology
- Jeroen van den Hoven, Ph.D., Professor of Ethics and Technology, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
- Brian Wang, M.B.A., Technology Consultant and Futurist
- John Weckert, Ph.D., Professor, Information Technology, Charles Sturt University (Australia); Professorial Fellow, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE)
- Vivian Weil, Ph.D., Director, Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions; Professor of Ethics, Illinois Institute of Technology
- Mark Wiesner, Ph.D., P.E., Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Rice University
- James Wilsdon, Ph.D., Head of Science and Innovation, DEMOS (UK)
“Nanotechnology is predicted to touch nearly every industry and every part of our lives, so studying its ethical and social implications must be a collaborative effort,” explained Patrick Lin, Ph.D., research director for The Nanoethics Group. “By building a community of notable experts, we can leverage their different experiences and years of thinking – ensuring that our work considers other viewpoints and is not conducted in a vacuum.”
Nanoethics is the study of moral and societal issues arising from nanotechnology, such as those related to environmental safety, privacy, human enhancement, longevity, terrorism, and more. Hailed as “The Next Industrial Revolution” that will bring profound benefits to humanity, nanotechnology may be reasonably expected to cause massive social, economic and political disruption, given the nature of such revolutions. The hope with nanoethics, however, is that we can learn from history and address these critical issues now while nanotechnology is still emerging, thereby heading off possible problems before they occur.
“As interest in nanotechnology grows, we hope to continue to attract a high caliber of individuals concerned about nanoethics, particularly in other relevant areas such as theology and public policy, and even if they disagree with us,” continued Dr. Lin. “In fact, we have intentionally included opposing viewpoints on our current Advisory Board, since we believe that a free market of competing ideas will give us the best chance of arriving at the right conclusions.”
About The Nanoethics Group
The Nanoethics Group is a non-partisan and independent research organization formed to study nanotechnology’s impact on society and related ethical issues. As professional ethicists, we help to identify and evaluate possible harms and conflicts as well as to bring balance and common sense to the debate. Our mission is to educate and advise both organizations and the broader public on these issues as a foundation to guide policy and responsible research. For more information, please visit www.nanoethics.org.
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Mike Treder
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
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