Essays on Nanotechnology and Policy
Foresight Institute's goal is to guide emerging technologies to improve the human condition and the environment. These essays explore general issues related to the impact of nanotechnology and other emerging technologies upon the human condition and the environment.
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"That's impossible!"
How good scientists reach bad conclusions
Ralph C. Merkle
Before the impact of emerging technologies upon the human condition can be taken seriously, there must be an accurate assessment of the capabilities of the emerging technology. Five years ago, the WWW hosted a debate between Foresight Institute and Scientific American over the feasibility of molecular nanotechnology. Five years of technical progress plus the advent of the National Nanotechnology Initiative has demonstrated that progress toward molecular nanotechnology is both possible and important. However, while enthusiastically championing incremental progress in nanoscale science and technology, many researchers remain very skeptical of the feasibility of general molecular manufacturing technology. Here Dr. Ralph Merkle tackles their arguments against the praticality of general purpose, programmable assemblers. "If we wish to improve our standard of living and that of future generations, we must learn to accurately evaluate new ideas and new concepts, filtering out the emotional biases and confusion that seem to inevitably surround our perceptions of them." |
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Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology: Some Preliminary Observations
[in PDF format, 112 KB]
Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Copyright © 2001 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
Requires ACROBAT READER by ADOBE.
"This all-too-brief essay will outline the basic nature of molecular nanotechnology. It will then discuss the likely environmental benefits ... and harms ... of this technology, and at least seek to begin the discussion of how nanotechnology might be dealt with in a way that will maximize the environmental benefits—which are likely to be enormous—while minimizing the potential harms, which, if allowed to materialize, are likely to be large as well." |
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