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| CRN Issues Call for Global Administration of Molecular Nanotechnology |
Chris Phoenix and Mike Treder
Center for Responsible Nanotechnology
October 21, 2003 |
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The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) is calling for
the creation of a special administrative system to deal with the problems of
molecular manufacturing. ?We don't need it today,? said CRN Executive
Director Mike Treder, ?but it will take time to create, and the technology
could arrive before we're ready.?
This proposal was the focus of a presentation by Treder at the recent
?Discovering the Nanoscale? academic conference in Darmstadt, Germany. CRN?s
conference paper, entitled ?Three Systems of Ethics: A Proposed Application
for Effective Administration of Molecular Nanotechnology?, is available
online at http://CRNano.org/systems.htm.
Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) describes the principle of building products
from the bottom up, molecule by molecule, with atomic precision. Such a
powerful technology could create a wide variety of problems. CRN believes
that no existing body can effectively manage all the benefits and risks.
?Faster and more precise manufacturing is desirable for many reasons,? said
Chris Phoenix, CRN's Director of Research. ?But it appears that MNT could be
developed quickly enough to destabilize many social and political
institutions, unless we prepare well ahead of time.?
The issues are not simple. ?To maximize creativity and humanitarian benefit,
people must be able to invent stuff and even to give it away. That has to be
balanced against commercial interests, including protection of intellectual
property,? said Phoenix. ?There also will be major security issues that
could cross all borders. You can't construct a complex system to deal with
all this at the last minute.?
Prior to the advent of MNT, a collaborative international administrative
structure will have to be designed and created to oversee the use of
molecular manufacturing. ?At worldwide levels, where things move slowly,
this might take as long as twenty years,? said Treder. ?Advanced
nanotechnology could arrive sooner than that, so urgent action is called for
now.?
The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology is headquartered in New York. CRN
is an affiliate of World Care, an international, non-profit, 501(c)(3)
organization. For more information on CRN, see http://CRNano.org/.
?Discovering the Nanoscale? conference website:
http://www.cla.sc.edu/cpecs/nirt/events/conf03/ |
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