In the next decade or two, the world will undergo many changes: some transformative, some beneficial, and some dangerous. The most disruptive may occur as a result of molecular manufacturing, an advanced form of nanotechnology.
That's part of the talk I delivered last week in Chicago during an all-day nanotech symposium attended by about 75 people. It was in connection with the annual meeting of the World Future Society. Here's more:
But if the future will be so different from today, why doesn't it look that way from here?
[CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE]
The problem is human perspective, what Ray Kurzweil calls the Intuitive Linear View.
The slide show I presented was titled "The Flat Horizon Problem: Nanotechnology on an Upward Slope." Here's another excerpt...
I call this the Myth of Perpetuation. It's simple to see how wrong it is, but it's easy to slip into.
As for nanotechnology's transformative and disruptive impacts, we're on the roller coaster heading toward the big climb. Progress is occurring every day, bringing us closer, even if we don't notice the gradual incline. Soon, however, the curve will sharpen and take us rapidly into a future for which we may not be prepared.
Mike Treder
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
Comments