Responsible Nanotechnology

Spam Spam Spam Spam

Jamais Cascio points us to a short story by Sven Johnson about 3D spam, circa 2019, posted at Futurismic: 

I can remember the first “fab spam” outbreak like it was yesterday.

Ever walk through a field and come out on the other end with burrs clinging to your clothes? Well, imagine something like those little burrs spilling out of your home fabber. Embedding themselves in the shag carpet. Attaching to an angry cat. Perforating your foot.

If you bothered to look closely, you might even have seen the maker’s mark … right beneath the words “Firewall Protection Software” or “Network Security Services”.

Read it -- it's short and fun.

We've covered the topic of 3D spam several times here on this blog. Although as a problem it's still at least several years away, when it comes, it could be a doozy.

Mike Treder

Ultimate Power and Informed Discretion

Not Necessarily Relevant Quote of the Week:

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.

— Thomas Jefferson

Ups and Downs

Going up?

Japan is looking at getting into the space elevator business. If they are truly serious about it, I would not bet against them achieving success before anyone else.

We've written previously about the intriguing concept of elevators to space. Such a logical proposition seems likely to happen at some point -- unless, that is, full-scale molecular manufacturing makes other means of getting into and back from space even more efficient and economical.

On the down side...

Aravind Jannu, India's Director of Information Technology and Biotechnology, recently stated that:

A global agreement should be formulated on the use of nanotechnology to ensure that it is not misused. . . Mr. Jannu said nanotechnology had its advantages and disadvantages and explained how it could be used to kill cancerous cells in the human body.

Similarly, sophisticated devices could also be manufactured using the technology, but there was the risk of misuse by anti-social elements. The country's security would be under threat.

Obviously, we agree with this point of view. We don't want to see panic or overreaction, but we do urge national and international leaders in business, government, and civil society to take these issues under urgent consideration and begin moving toward global agreements.

[Hat tips to Nanotech-Now, here and here]

Mike Treder

Superstruct Launch!

In his capacity as an affiliate with the Institute for the Future, CRN's Jamais Cascio has been deeply involved in developing a massively-multiplayer forecasting game called "Superstruct."

Read the game scenario here.

Watch descriptive videos here.

Find answers to FAQ here.

Get involved and help superstruct the future!

Steps Toward Nanofactories

Although we won't get directly to atomically precise molecular manufacturing through improvement of today's rapid prototyping systems, they are an interesting proof of concept -- and beyond that, the changes they bring could help prepare society for the transformative impacts of nanofactory technology.

Over at the Global Guerrillas blog, John Robb explains how he sees "the future of manufacturing and how it applies to community resilience."

The shift towards local fabrication and fabrication networks, added to local food/energy/security/etc. completes the transition of barren bedroom communities into resilient communities. It's a 90% solution for communities, where only the most complex and difficult items are globally sourced. It also enables:

• A torrent of crowd-sourced improvements. Rather than a small design team deciding when/how a product is improved, products can be improved by vast global tinkering networks. Further, you can modify it yourself, if you are so inclined. In the not so distant future, buying a mass produced or unmodified product will be seen as a buying a broken/used/antiquated item.
• Self-supply. 21st Century military units (like Marines in the field), with a trailer full of fabrication equipment, will be able to produce nearly anything they need -- from parts what he calto DIY weapons. It takes "make do" to a new level. Capturing and sharing (in real-time) the innovation produced here is going to be a challenge.
• Comparative/competitive advantage. Communities that shift to self-production early will benefit from an ability to not only deal with shocks/disruptions better than global competitors, they will be able to generate wealth faster through cost reduction and commercial exploitation of innovations.

That sounds a lot like the implications of nanofactories for communities and for military operations, except on a smaller scale. Take John's assumptions related to what he calls "digital fabrication" and multiply their effects by, say, ten times, and you'll have an idea how disruptive the dissemination of nanofactories could be for economies, militaries, ecologies, and human societies.

Mike Treder

Methane time bomb ready to explode?

If confirmed, this could be very, very bad news:

The first evidence that millions of tons of a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere from beneath the Arctic seabed has been discovered by scientists. . .

In the past few days, the researchers have seen areas of sea foaming with gas bubbling up through "methane chimneys" rising from the sea floor. They believe that the sub-sea layer of permafrost, which has acted like a "lid" to prevent the gas from escaping, has melted away to allow methane to rise from underground deposits formed before the last ice age.

I'm finding it difficult, as have others, to comment on this report without sounding hyperbolic or apocalyptic. While I certainly hope to be wrong, this feels like it might be the beginning of the end of any chance we once had to avert the worst dangers of climate chaos by taking limited action now.

It may just be too late already.

Mike Treder

Banning Chinese Products

From the news today:

At least 12 countries -- from Indonesia to Colombia -- have banned Chinese dairy products amid fears over a widening tainted milk scandal that has killed four Chinese babies and sickened thousands of others. Worries that compromised ingredients may have contaminated other foods like yogurts, cookies and candies have led several more countries, from Canada to Australia, to step up testing of Chinese imports.

From CRN's nanotechnology scenario project:

As soon as it was clear that the Rot was showing up in cargo, collapse was unavoidable. All nations called a quarantine on goods shipped from China. China, suddenly losing its export dollars, called in trillions of dollars in debt from the USA. The US dollar crashed. The credit rating of the United States went through the floor. The US lost nearly one fifth of its imports through the drying up of Chinese goods. Another 40% of US imports came from Mexico and Canada, both of whom were hit by the pandemic, just not as hard as the US.

An interesting, if troubling, correlation...

Empty Oceans

Humans are very clever, aren't we?

It seems every time we discover a new ecosystem we can exploit, we do so with such vigor that before long we've depleted all available resources. Not very far-sighted, of course, but you sure can't fault our enthusiasm!

Here is an example:

Kind of depressing. And it's only going to get worse as climate change threatens existing habitats and forces mass migrations of species resulting in greater depletion and more extinctions.

An increasing number of scientists are now coming forward with proposals for geoengineering: large-scale tinkering with the Earth's atmosphere and oceans with the intent to slow or reverse global warming and to avert its most damaging effects.

One wonders, of course, if we humans are smart enough to do that effectively. Can those who fouled the nest so badly be trusted to clean it up?

Philosophical conjectures aside, it seems clear that the challenge of climate chaos is severe enough that drastic action may indeed be required. And so, given that, we're pleased to see that the concept of geoengineering is moving quickly from the pages of science fiction to the pages of serious scientific journals -- in this case, a series of papers published by the Royal Society, Britain’s oldest scientific academy, in its Philosophical Transactions.

Whether or not you agree that climate change represents an imminent crisis, as we believe, it is at least somewhat reassuring that measures to counteract it are being given due consideration by qualified, sober thinkers.

Mike Treder

Any Intelligent Fool

Not Necessarily Relevant Quote of the Week:

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.

— Albert Einstein

Not Necessarily Relevant Quote of the Week:

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.

— Albert Einstein

Not Necessarily Relevant Quote of the Week:

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.

— Albert Einstein

Science Debate 2008

Amid all the (rightful) attention being paid to the Wall Street debacle, and with the United States still deeply involved in two wars, it might be all too easy to lose sight of important issues in science and technology that our Presidential candidates should answer.

Fortunately, someone's been working on that...

Both Barack Obama and John McCain have responded to 14 questions pertaining to Innovation, Climate Change, Energy, Education, and more. If you're a U.S. voter, or a world citizen who wonders what to expect next, I urge you to read the answers provided by both candidates.

Mike Treder