Bill McDonald brings to our attention the U.S. Congressional campaign of Mike Stopa, a Harvard nanotechnologist and physicist. This is probably the first time that a nanotechnologist has run for Congress. However, his profession may not get much attention, as his campaign is focusing on other issues. It will be interesting to see whether, as… Continue reading Nanotechnologist running for U.S. Congress
The Mark, “Canada’s daily online forum for news, commentary, and debate,” has published a commentary that primarily takes a negative view of the use of nanotech (or any tech) for life extension: Extreme life extension raises other interesting, yet troubling questions. Significant life extension could have serious implications for individual identity; what if we change… Continue reading Nanotechnology and life extension: challenge & response
Here we present a special report from Dave Conz of ASU on Josh Hall’s talk and subsequent panel discussion at the SME nanotech conference. An excerpt: Technoscientific development is difficult to direct and nearly impossible to predict. Because of this – not in spite of it – panel discussions like “How Do We Get There… Continue reading Debate: "How do we get there from here?" at SME nano conference
Brian Wang brings to our attention a Daily Mail article: A routine traffic-stop in Switzerland has allegedly thwarted eco-terrorists from blowing up the site of the £55million nano-technology HQ of IBM in Europe… The group describes itself as anarchist and is opposed to all forms of micro-technology as well as nuclear power and weapons… The… Continue reading 'Anarchists' try to bomb Swiss IBM nano facility (but fail)
Wondering how U.S. federal nanotech tax dollars are spent? Obama’s first President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) review will be webcast live tomorrow, March 12. This review only occurs every two years so this is your big chance to see what the current administration thinks of the NNI. Thirty minutes are set… Continue reading Live webcast tomorrow March 12 on U.S. Nat'l Nanotech Initiative
A round-up of commentary about the state of nanotech research, given the 50th anniversary of Feynman’s talk: Adam Keiper in the WSJ If this dispute over nano-nomenclature only involved some sniping scientists and a few historians watching over a tiny corner of Feynman’s legacy, it would be of little consequence. But hundreds of companies and… Continue reading Recent commentary
Foresight ally Jeff Ubois has a new book out, published by Fondazione Giannino Bassetti, Conversations on Innovation, Power, and Responsibility. Yours truly is quoted. An excerpt: Peterson suggests that a closer look at the software developers might provide some clues about responsible cultures of innovation. “If you really want to know how to create a sense of responsibility,… Continue reading Software responsibility as model for nanotech?
One of the reasons I inveigh so heavily against the use of the word “nanotechnology” to mean merely stuff that’s measured in nanometers, is that while it focuses on the size — “nano” — it tends to ignore the function — the “technology.” Nanotech to me is about high-energy-density, high-frequency, eutactic machinery. To those focused… Continue reading "Nanotechnology" causes global warming
At Bryan Caplan’s blog this morning there was an odd comment that stirred up a 40-year old memory: A single sentence in the Durants’ The Age of Napoleon makes me wonder whether I can trust a word they write on economic policy: The memory is that it was reading another part of the Durant’s Story… Continue reading Some Historical Perspective
In Popular Mechanics, longtime Foresight friend Prof. Glenn Reynolds looks at the future of nanotech and artificial intelligence, among other things looking at safety issues, including one call that potentially dangerous technologies be relinquished. He takes a counterintuitive stance, which we’ve discussed here at Foresight over the years: But I wonder if that’s such a… Continue reading Reynolds advocates faster nano/AI R&D for safety reasons
