Policy Wonk Advocates Government "Control" of NT

from the Keeping-Nanotech-Safe-for-Democracy dept.
A lengthy article in The Washington Monthly ("Downsizing," by N. Thompson, October 2000) makes an interesting case for government involvement and even regulation of nanotechnology development: "Deep government involvement in nanotechnology is more than a practical obligation from a research and national defense perspective. It's close to becoming a moral imperative." After a brief overview of the potential benefits and dangers of nanotechnology, and discussing Bill Joy's call for relinquishment, the article asserts: "There's a gaping hole in Joy's proposed strategy however: It's impossible." Thompson goes on to suggest that the "logical solution is controlled development. The United States needs to push the science forward but we also need . . . to make sure that, as much as possible, the main research bases for this technology develop either on our own soil or with close allies, and we need to support much of the early research so it can be closely tied into government regulation. The most obvious danger would come if the United States falls behind the rest of the world and finds itself unable to control the technology." The article concludes by quoting Ralph Merkle of Zyvex: "If you?ve relinquished it, then you're hosed."