The Law And Nanotechnology

YIAAL writes: "An article in Smalltimes raises the issue of legal implications of nanotechnology in all sorts of areas. Would nanoweapons be treated as chemical or biological weapons, or do they need a new treaty? If you can use nanotechnology to copy anything and then share the "plans" with friends who can use nanotechnology to make copies of their own, is it like Napster for the material world?" The gray goo problem - accidentally releasing a self-replicating device that turns the entire world into copies of itself - is going to be a huge spur for close regulation of nano-devices.

Comments

legal issues? I think not.

[Mikiso]

You know, the people in power couldn't care less about the grey-goo problem. That's for academics and pessemists. Mega corps and government only care about maintining their stranglehold on power. Consider the idealized nanotech world where we press a button and make whatever we want. Where is the profit? Who owns anything? How can people oppress the weak with the scarcity of material goods? Now then. Do you really think for a single minute that all the greedy COEs and dictators will just roll over and let utopia exist? I think not! Really. I'm willing to bet all the money I'll ever make in the rest of my life that you'll see more regulation to protect our favorite enemy "IP" than you will to protect the innocent from being turned into pudding. I mean, who owns the patent on making stuff with nanobots? It makes the economy to which we are all slaves utterly useless. Well, that's how I see it playing out anyway. One more way to benfit humanity squashed under the foot of greed.

Just goes to show you

[bflong]

This just goes to show you how the word is run by corps. So, technology may allow us to recreate just about anything, quickly, easyly, and cheaply? Well!! What about the poor multinational corps whose buisiness models will go down in flames over this? Wah!
It's about time that things are invented to make life better for humanity, rather then just line big buisness' pockets. However, that will never happen in this world.
See 1st John 5:19