Re: Greenpeace takes on nanotech, AI & robotics

From: Brendan Coffey (bmc@section9.net)
Date: Fri Jul 25 2003 - 11:33:46 MDT

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    Points well made. People who are leery about the _implementations_
    of technologies resulting from this science aren't misplacing their
    concerns, I don't think. And it's nothing particular to nanotech.

    The dominant culture doesn't to a very good job of implementing emerging
    technologies to the general benefit of the biosphere, and the biosphere
    isn't an "issue." If we fuck it up, we die. Period.

    -bmc

    On Fri, Jul 25, 2003 at 04:44:32PM +0200, Joao Magalhaes wrote:
    > Hi!
    >
    > To me, some of Greenpeace's worries are reasonable and deserve to be
    > discussed. What I feel would be a mistake is to try to pass on the message
    > that Greenpeace is just calling up attention and thwart the industry. If we
    > want nanotech to flourish then we must come up with solutions to some of
    > these problems instead of insulting the people who pose them. Otherwise, we
    > will eventually have governments making laws to control nanotech, stem
    > cells, GE, etc. For instance, the comments in the article in favour of
    > nanotech are incredibly arrogant. They reminded me of Monsanto's failure,
    > some years ago, to make Europeans accept GM crops. The strategy was not to
    > educate or understand their critics but instead label everyone against GM
    > crops as "anti-progress". Such arrogant attitude may work in the US, but
    > will not work in Europe. Yet if you take a look at all the legislation
    > rising up against stem cells, in both US and Europe, you will see that the
    > best way to assure transhuman technologies becomes more accepted is by
    > understanding the problems others pose and coming up with solutions.
    >
    > All the best.
    >
    > PS: I go on vacation tomorrow, so I won't be joining this, or any other,
    > threat until mid-August.
    >
    > At 08:15 25-07-2003 -0600, you wrote:
    >
    > >Bill Joy, Prince Charles, Etc Group... and now Greenpeace. Looks like a
    > >storm
    > >gathering, to me...
    > >
    > >Cheers,
    > >Fabio
    > >
    > >--------------------------------------------
    > >
    > >GREENPEACE WADES INTO NANO DEBATE WITH REPORT THAT CALLS FOR CAUTION
    > >
    > >http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=6408
    > >
    > >Future technologies, today's choic
    > >es
    > >Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: A technical,
    > >es
    > >political and institutional map of emerging technologi
    > >es
    > >
    > >http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?
    > >CFID=190973&CFTOKEN=43323225&ucidparam=20030721113521
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >----
    > >This message was posted by estropico to the Extropians 2003 board on ExI
    > >BBS.
    > ><http://www.extropy.org/bbs/index.php?board=67;action=display;threadid=56592>
    >
    > Joao Magalhaes (joao.magalhaes@fundp.ac.be)
    >
    > Website on Aging: http://www.senescence.info
    > Reason's Triumph: http://www.jpreason.com
    >



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