From: Brett Paatsch (paatschb@optusnet.com.au)
Date: Wed Jul 02 2003 - 01:15:26 MDT
$5 million a year for an American National Preparedness
Centre (who thinks these names up) to examining ethical
issues relating to nanotechnology. Looks like the job
prospects for ethicist are getting rosier. I wonder if they
multiply in proportion to the number of issues, or if they
get even a little bit thinner as nanotech, joins stem cells
and GM food as something to be 'deeply concerned'
about. I suspect its the former.
- Brett Paatsch
(Actually maybe an 'open' review of the safety of
nanotech may be better than a govt block as a result of
someone deeming that nano has weaponry implications)
-------
Probing Nanotech's 'Dark Side'
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/701/2
"The U.S. Congress is on the verge of approving legislation
that would require the government to examine the implications
of nanotechnology as it pumps funds into the promising field.
The U.K. government is also moving to probe nanotech's
promise and peril.
Researchers have touted nanotechnology--an array of
techniques that allow the manipulation of matter at the atomic
scale--as the next big thing, producing everything from better
materials to tiny robots. But some commentators warn of a
darker side. Prominent computer scientist Bill Joy, for instance,
worries about the creation of self-replicating "nanobots" that
could run amok, coating Earth in a blanket of "gray goo."
Such scenarios are unlikely, argue mainstream researchers.
Still, many say that the growing field's potential impacts
deserve a closer look.
The House and Senate have recently worked on bills
(H.R. 766 and S. 189) that would require the government to
fund studies on the social, economic, and environmental
impacts of civilian nanotechnology. The House bill orders
the government to report on "the development of safe
nanotechnology," including a study of its use for
self-reproducing machines, artificial intelligence, and "human
brain extenders." A bill passed in June by the Senate
Commerce Committee would authorize $5 million a year for
a special American Nanotechnology Preparedness Center
to examine ethical issues relating to nanotechnology. The full
Senate is expected to approve the legislation later this
summer, and the two bodies will then reconcile their
differences.
In Britain, meanwhile, the government last month asked the
Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering to
review nanotech's ethical and social implications. The joint
panel, which is expected to hold its first meeting next month,
aims to "determine where we are with this technology, what
we want from it, and what safeguards [we] need," says
chair Ann Dowling, a mechanical engineer at the University
of Cambridge. A final report is due next spring."
- Brett Paatsch
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