Rocky Rawstern of Nanotechnology Now brings our attention to an article in The Scotsman on the views of Dr. Donald Bruce, head of the Church of Scotland’s Society, Religion and Technology Project. While there is much that we would agree with in Dr. Bruce’s position — for example, a concern about nanotechnology possibly leading to… Continue reading Church of Scotland wants nanotechnology to respect certain limits drawn from…the arts?
The International Risk Governance Council held a meeting on nanotechnology in Zurich on July 6-7, 2006, to review and critique their white paper on Nanotechnology Risk Governance (PDF). Normally such events are just about the risks of near-term nanomaterials, but not this one. The IRGC is looking at all sides: both near- and long-term nanotechnology… Continue reading Nanotechnology risks & benefits, near- and long-term, debated at IRGC
Friends of the Earth Australia has published a special issue of their magazine titled Nanotechnology: Small Science, Big Questions! (4.3 MB PDF). It includes over 17 short pieces opposing or questioning the endeavor. On the upside, the group does appear to appreciate the magnitude of the changes that will eventually come from the more advanced… Continue reading Is opposing nanotechnology really being Friendly to the Earth?
The role of nanotechnology in the developing world is questioned by Prof. Guillermo Foladori of Mexico in his Nanotechnology Law & Business article “Nanotechnology in Latin America at the Crossroads” (free abstract, full PDF requires a fee or subscription). Prof. Foladori reminds us of nanotech’s potential to alleviate poverty: In recent years, governments, scientists, and… Continue reading Nanotechnology: alleviate poverty or reduce inequality?
In an essay on KurzweilAI.net reprinted from New Scientist, Bill Joy — whose Wired essay titled Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us touched off a big controversy — suggests insurance as a mechanism to reduce risk from powerful technologies including nanotech: We could use the very strong force of markets. Rather than regulate things, we… Continue reading Bill Joy suggests insurance as risk reduction mechanism for nanotechnology
A message from Cate Alexander, Communications Director of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, about the May 2006 workshop on public participation which included Foresight: We have posted materials from the Public Participation in Nanotechnology workshop at http://www.nano.gov/html/society/home_society.html A few presentations are being converted from Mac to PC format and will be added to the… Continue reading Public participation in nanotech slides posted
Here at Foresight we’ve been doing “public participation” in nanotechnology since long before any national nanotech initiatives were started. So of course we are strongly in favor of nanoliteracy. The more the public understands nanotechnologies and the nanosciences on which they are based, the better, both for the economy and public policy. So it may… Continue reading Reducing bias in public participation in nanotech
It had to happen: a book in which German philosophers direct their attention to nanotech. (Ethicists and social scientists too.) Excerpts from the English abstracts (pdf), with my commentary inserted: An account is provided of how the purpose of gaining knowledge is reoriented towards purposes of application. This helps clear up the relation of discovery… Continue reading German philosophers take on nanotechnology
Judy Conner here at Foresight brings our attention to a new 55-page report from International Risk Governance Council, based in Switzerland, titled Survey on Nanotechnology Governance: Volume D. The Role of NGOs (400K pdf). Nine organizations are featured: five from the U.S. (CRN, Environmental Defense, Foresight, NRDC, and one I had not previously heard about,… Continue reading NGOs weigh in on nanogovernance
Here’s your chance to relocate to sunny Arizona and get paid (okay, not well paid, but paid something) for studying the societal implications of nanotech. I suspect that most people entering this field are skeptical of technology, so let’s try to fill this job with someone who’s enthusiastic, to provide balance. This Center is looking… Continue reading Fun job open in Nano & Society studies
