Survey of Nanotechnology Issues

From Wise Nano

This is a beginning list of issues involved in beginning Drexlerian-style nanotechnology. This does not include nanomaterials except indirectly as produced by nanomachinery. This is intended as a 'living document' with answers to be incorporated either into this page or into subpages as accumulated.

This is related to the Dimensions of development project.

Initial Nanotech Base - Deals with what materials might be used, and how the choice between materials could affect some of nanotechnology's "low-hanging fruit".

-Does the tech lead to Self-replication

-- Yes, fully automated

-- Yes, with human intervention

-- No, each device must be individually crafted

As the technology comes into use, initial efforts will almost certainly be "hand-crafted" (possibly via atomic force microscopy, solution chemistry, lithography, some other process 'to be named', or some combination thereof). To fulfill its more dramatic promises, self-replication will need to be developed and employed due to the huge numbers of nanoscale machines and parts that will be required. Additionally, there will need to be some serious work done on handling the complexity inherent in having that many moving parts being worked. Chris Phoenix has recently addressed one part of this issue.

-What are the legal restrictions?

-- What are the organizational bodies regulating nanotechnology?

-- What are the international organizations

Some options, from a US point of view: -- Will it be considered a 'drug' and be under the FDA? (This may be the regulatory choice for nano designed to run inside a human being).

-- Will it be a communication device, under the FCC?

-- Would it be considered a contaminant worthy of the DEA's notice?

-- Could it be considered a weapon and hence under the ATF, if not the DoD?

-- A weapon of mass destruction to be watched by the CDC and/or Department of Energy?

-- Something to watch for potential counterfitting, and thus under the Department of the Treasury?

-- Something terrorists may itch to get their hands on, and thus under the Department of Homeland Security?

-- Or, most likely (and quite probably most detrimentally to 'legal' nanomachine development), it could be under a hellacious mix of regulations from some combination if not all of the above.

-- Some international organizations may include UN-related organizations, such as the WHO, treaty- or pact-members such as NATO, etc. (This is a gaping hole needing filling!)

-Who develops nanotechnology?

-- Single group

-- Single government

-- Small number of groups

-- Small number of governments

-- Small number of governments and groups

-- One allied group of governments

-- 'open source'

-- Governments only

-- Corporations only

-- Additional question: If more than one group, how do the groups interact?

-What are the socio-political restrictions? (Are there groups which refuse use of the tech? Are there social upsets blaimed (rightly or not) on nanotechnology?)

-What are the technical/economic limitations? (Expensive raw materials, specialized design software/hardware/tools, high power usage/dissipation costs, high failure rates, high-vaccum pains, etc)

-What are the economic repercussion? (Which industries are affected beneficially? Which are affected detrimentally? Which are unaffected?)

The one industry which will probably be the least directly impacted, at least immediately, will be food production. Production of foodstuffs via nanotech, even assuming carbon as the base material chosen, is a non-trivial development effort. A raw, amorphous mass of ingredients (carbs, fats, proteins, amino acids, vitamins, etc) might be the initial foodstuff produced. More complicated materials - getting the texture of a steak right, for instance - may have to wait a while.

Even so, the food industry will have the opportunity to grow in new ways - no longer needing to go to the store for fertilizer, if nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen and other gasses can be used in nanofacture, much less overhead in specialized tools to begin a farm, etc.

Another impact on the food industry may be a substantial increase in aggregate demand for food. There are several possible reasons for this. These include effective weight-loss technologies allowing people to eat all they want and not gain weight, the energy demands for internal glucose or ATP powered nanomachines, and the reduced cost of other goods leading to an increase in discretionary spending on food, especially by the world's poor. Fortunately, there appear to be ways in which nanotechnology can be used to increase the food supply dramatically even short of manufacturing food directly. One of the simplest is increasing the energy available for agricultural applications, which are sometimes referred to as technologies for "turning oil into food". Beyond this, crude early inital nano-foodstuffs may be adequate for animal feed and for aquaculture. Hydroponics equipment, green-houses, etc may be relatively easily manufactured. The genetics of plant-life may also be more easily modified to increase yields or to reduce growing requirements.

A second industry that may have an important role in any world with highly regulated or controlled MNT is the mega-store. These stores already have experience managing logistics inexpensively and distributing massive quantities of goods at cheaply. Nanotech devices should improve upon this technology by cheaply embedding RFID tags in all goods, and by enabling manufacture to take place at the point of distribution. Nanofactories located in large stores will be much more easily monitored, restricted, and controlled than desk top manufacturing plants. Prices can also be kept higher, and copy-protections can be implemented more reliably.