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Nanotech Goes To Capitol Hill
akb writes "The Tech Law Journal has the rundown on a panel held on Capitol Hill by the Nanotech Business Alliance and the Progressive Policy Institute. The panel was intended to educate legislators and government agencies about nanotech and (of course) to drum up money to support research."
Who better to understand this new technology?
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
Honestly, people. Nanotech is decades off. This whole thing was completley blown out of proportion. Let's keep it in reality, please. What's the point of even having a business alliance for a non-existant business? "MARTIAN MINING BUSINESS COALITON" would be equally useful. It's possible, but still years off.
Everything is mainstream now.
title>TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 328, December 14, 2001./title>
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I would connent on how bad their page layout is, but looking at the software they had on hand, I'll forgive them.
Not like anyone in the Govn't would understand any of it.. but since its about money, their in.
Nanotech isn't just for breakfast anymore, it's also for extremely miniature Artificial Intelligence.
Of course, the AI Mind will have to migrate from public-domain Macro AI down into nanotech-based molecular or even quantum AI, but the race is on to Technological Singularity!
We have all seen on Star Trek, how easily these can get out of hand
;-)
Looking for any old 8-bit Heathkit/Zenith software/hardware - http://heathkit.garlanger.com
It may be offtopic but a damn fine deal! :)
We find your lack of faith disturbing.
To demonstrate our power, we will dispatch nanites already stationed in the Slashdot servers to transpose the eighth and ninth characters in the 11th word of your post. Since you describe our business as "non-existent," we'll probably make that word as incorrect as your assumption.
As a final masterstroke, or nanites will change your post's subject heading so that it does not refer to the NanoBusiness Alliance at all.
Do not cross us again.
Sincerely yours,
Tsar
Supreme Leader
The NanoBusiness Alliance
O.................-"last one through, close that ASCII hole!"
Nanotechnology will revolutionize medicine and make manufacturing products cheaper. One of the biggest possibilities is having nanobots living in our brain. The powerful computers inside each nanite could make us much smarter. They can also assemble products, like super-strong diamond for tall buildings, just from raw materials.
If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
Much better explanation to be found at
http://www.kriscappelle.be
Did you know there is made an enourmous progress in nano-technology in belgium? I know someone who is working on it personal, check his site at Kris's nanotech research (KNR)(choose r&d - nanotech). Quite nice, isn't it?
...is a way to position China as a fierce competitor in this area, so we can trigger a nano-race, ala the race to the moon in the 60's.
Unfortunately, our current Congress and administration is not as fortunate as we are. Stuck in the 19th century, the successors of Newt have shown us that they are not interested in civil rights, advancements in medicine, or pretty much anything that doesn't involve increasing pork-barrel spending on defense. I would be surprised to find out that more than a handful of Republicans in Congress actually have college degrees. They don't need to think; everything is a matter of dollars and cents.
Although this should come as no surprise to a nation that voted Republican for the past few years, our leaders' refusal to act like they are living in the 21st century is going to have a very negative impact on science, as their core constituencies have no interest in keeping the USA's status as the most advanced nation in the world.
So, these nanotech lobbyists would be well advised to keep a low profile until Gore returns to the White House in 2004. Otherwise, they may be headed to Washington with their hands out and leaving Washington with their research banned. And that would not be good for science.
df
...for NanoBusiness Alliance?
Organization:
Red Hook Partners
F. Mark Modzelewski
334 Old Route 212
Saugerties, NY 12477
US
Phone: 845-247-0115
Email: fmmodzelewski@yahoo.com
Registrar Name....: Register.com
Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com
Registrar Homepage: http://www.register.com
Domain Name: NANOBUSINESS.ORG
Created on..............: Wed, Jul 11, 2001
Expires on..............: Thu, Jul 11, 2002
Record last updated on..: Sun, Dec 09, 2001
Administrative Contact:
Red Hook Partners
F. Mark Modzelewski
334 Old Route 212
Saugerties, NY 12477
US
Phone: 845-247-0115
Email: fmmodzelewski@yahoo.com
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Register.Com
Domain Registrar
575 8th Avenue - 11th Floor
New York, NY 10018
US
Phone: 212-798-9200
Fax..: 212-629-9305
Email: domain-registrar@register.com
Their technical contact is still Register.com, their administrative contact is a Yahoo.com address, they're hosted on Hostway (service starts at $17.95 a month for Windows hosting, and they're using Frontpage), they registered their domain in July and they only paid for one year ! How nearsighted are these people, and is theirs the star to which we want to hitch our nanowagon?
Note: I have a low-rent hosting service too, but then again, I'm not lobbying Congress.
...is how I can get a Feed line.
Let me first start out by saying that I believe nanotech - ie, the real stuff: assemblers, etc - will come about some day - maybe not soon, but probably sooner than we think. I believe this because of simple reasoning - we (ie, the informed /. crowd) know that computers ARE software, and that software can act as a computer. This is a fact - software only needs a physical hardware form to produce results in a small amount of time - for software cares, rocks and buckets are sufficient. With this realization, it should come as no surprise that once you can create a computer based on nano-elements (that is, an atomic structure computer), then software will have come into "physical" form. At that point, quasi-"living" things can be built, via software.
We see this in nature - it is called DNA and RNA - in fact, I wouldn't doubt that our first nanotech computers (ie, ones that are "general purpose" - yes I know about the parallel processing DNA "computers" that have been made in the lab), will in fact resemble DNA and RNA - and in fact may be based off of such natural structures, once we unravel the DNA "code" and how it works to assemble and disassemble the helical structure to form, well, "life".
Once that is done - whole new realms open up - because software is then hardware - hardware which can be coded to replicate, mutate, infect - viral hardware, in essence. Think about that.
Such a technology could be the "ultimate" weapon. It could be both the destroyer and the life giver. I believe we are on the cusp of having such great technology - but we, as a society, are immature babies - most of us are litterally unable and unready to wield the enormous power at hand (almost akin to another story we all know about, eh?).
Such technology will ultimately destroy our current sociological and economical bases - all of them - in near a blink of an eye. At first, I am certain there will be bans on it, then companies will wield it, regardless of bans - because it would give them enormous power. They will try to keep a tight reign on it (mutatable hardware that is the embodiement of software - ie, IP? DMCA, etc - you see where that can head - is it alright to make a copy of that "nano-steak"?). However, just like life - it will escape.
Likely, it will be one of us, or more likely, out progeny - who "crack" this code, and hopefully, release it to the world. This of course will open up the script kiddie floodgates of nanotech. I might have this backward - and these misuses will cause the ban. But it will escape nonetheless.
However, we won't be ready for it - I have no idea how it will end or begin.
But, I think it will begin with nanotech logic gates, assembled as a "blob" style computer - maybe deep in a packaged well on a computer chip. Watch for it. That, I believe, will be the beginning of the end - that will lead to a revolutionary new beginning. Whether humans will be human or alive for that new beginning I can only say is unknowable to me...
They may get funding for this - only because Congress and the people as a whole are clueless when it comes to understanding what nanotech will ultimately bring. It is a pity that the same amount of funding (nay, much greater!) won't be made available to schools for math and science funding (as well as probably socialogical science funding, or whatnot)...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
AI has failed. None of it's promises has been fulfilled. The modern "achivements" come mainly from the fact that most AI researchers have lowered their standards so that they can provide at least some results.
So this technological rant is utter nonsense. Today's computer concepts are very unlikely to meet every the conditions of having "intelligence". The only thing that might work are new conpects like quantum computing or the replication of working, intelligent biological systems. However it's not known these days if the quantum approach scales up well which is crucial for attacking AI problems. And which all more complicated biological systems we have only a little clue how they work.
So the technological singularity is science on crack.
BTW: It's an interesting question if out intelligence is the possible upper limit for intelligent behavior of a physical system. Perhaps we are after all really the crown of the evolution.
Owner of a Mensa membership card.
I would be surprised to find out that more than a handful of Republicans in Congress actually have college degrees.
Dear (mostly) educated computer professional, has it occurred to you that probably 90% or better of people in Coongress, of both parties, started as lawyers? Yeah, LL.Ds? In what year did you fish your degree out of a Cracker Jack box?
While I may not think highly of these people in many respects, it does your argument no good to inject such a note of foolishness into the brew.
Class dismissed, O throbbing brain.
We truly live in scary times. Enemies of our nation only wish they could do as much damage as Ashcroft has been able to do in his first 10 months of office.
They haven't "started to be affected by nanotechnology" at all. What has happened is that these areas that have traditionally been working on an atomic scale have simply been claimed by nanotechnology after nanotechnology failed to deliver what it promised. It's a smart but cynical publicity move.
Nanotechnology continues to be vaporware, failing to deliver on any of the promises that Drexler and other people made for it. The harm that these people will do to established disciplines remains to be seen, as less qualified, buzz-word spewing people get new funding and investments.
Nanotechnology is distinguished from these existing fields by promising molecular assemblers, self-replicating machines, and all that. Making carbon "nano"-tubes or buckyballs from soot and getting them to stick together in particular ways in bulk is not nanotechnology, it's still (bulk) chemistry. Nanotechnology has failed completely to deliver on those promises so far, and it doesn't look like it will deliver any time soon.
Rebranding the successes of other disciplines as successes of "nanotechnology" seems rather dishonest to me. Given that these people are now going to Capitol Hill with outstretched hands, it seems like the same thing we had with "e-this" and "i-that" over the last few years. Since this silliness cannot be stopped, let's hope the traditional disciplines will wise up quickly and put a "nano" into their names temporarily so that there is a level playing field.
If I want information on nanotech and its future, I'll go to foresight.org and see what K. Eric Drexler has to say. These petty lobbyists have nothing to offer.
******
"I do not play at being God -- I AM GOD!
I want to ask a question, regarding this post, that I posted. I am posting anon so that a mod-down on this post won't affect me, so...
I read this on my post:
Moderation Totals: Interesting=1, Overrated=1, Total=2.
On the last several of my posts - posts which, BTW, I thought made actually "insightful" points - they have all been moderated down as "Overrated".
I post at +2 - my normal level - if my post goes +1, to give me three (ie, someone thought it good) - how is that "overrated"? I can understand if it went to +6 or beyond, and it really wasn't that great (I had one of these not too long ago, relating to a post on a 256 byte demo - the -1 overrated was justified on that one), sure, mod it down.
But please - someone seems to "have it in for me" to mod down this post (and it seems, others) - a post which is:
a) Clearly on topic
b) Not trolling
c) Makes a VERY VALID POINT
So, someone mods it up - but no, that is too much - can't have insightful and valid comments around here - and I am modded down.
What is the logic of that?
If you are the individual who modded me down, email me. I want to know your reasoning why you thought my post basically, well, "sucked"...
-- cr0sh
I recal a recent article saying that they had built a billion of small nano machines (a drop of water). They can perform a billionoperations per second and are rated at 98% efficiency. These machines aren't too advanced, but they manipulated DNA inside a container. The DNA is what the machines used as a memory modual, they used a simple language. Simple binary was the "software" they used and they had sappositly 2 modes, the only ones I can think of is examine and save. Their first first job was examining if there was an equal # of 1's in a binary series. I say not bad for our first nanites. The only thing I would worry about is the software. Just think, would you want MS to be the software vendor? Lets hope open source gets over to the nanites.
Is that true would we be able to do that with nanobytes, or whatever there called. Thats pretty cool.
its here now. Sure its just begining, but the impact of nanotechnolgy in the next 60 year will be just like the impact of plastic in the last 60 years(or so).
Unfortunatly it is incredible expensive to do research on, which is why there going to the government for money.
I want to see material 100 time stronger then steel, at 1/6 the wait.
OTOH I do NOT want to see a space elevator.
nanobots (mahine made with nanotechnology) will change a lot, but probably only have the impact as robotics has have. not to say robotics are helping, there just not where everyone thought they would be 50 years ago.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
You bring up a valid point: such a thing was said (and is continued to be said) about all of these scientific pursuits.
However, the very fact that society is still arguing about all of them, rather than coming up with sane and honest ways to work with the technology, proves my point.
Mutually Assured Destruction forms an apt acronym, if you ask me. IMO, mankind should be at the point today where war shouldn't be contemplated - we should be helping each other, of all races, religions, nationalities and creeds - to become better, to strive for something more, and to become independent of our planet.
We have the technology, today, to reach our outer planets, and with time, the stars - in reasonable amounts of time (ie, nuclear propulsion). But instead, NIMBYism is practiced, and the idea of a nuclear rocket being launched in space fills people with an irrational fear that fallout will land on them (which is a sad account on the level of our science education - the common man should know that the levels of radiation in space are far higher than what would be added by a nuclear rocket).
We have the ability to create/modify extremely hardy plants and animals, create new medicines, etc - with our knowledge of biological processes (which I agree, is far from complete, if it ever will be) - such plants, animals and medicines could help people worldwide, if given the chance. Instead, plants are engineered with killer genes to cause farmers to keep paying for the seed, and IP laws keep vaccines and other medicines out of the hands of countries who need them most. All because of mainly greed and power.
Now, we are on the edge of creating something so fundamental - atomic element electronics and logic - which will have the infinite flexibility of code, with the "hardiness" of true hardware. Such a device has never been seen before, only hinted at. Hinted at mainly in the way software viruses work (and don't work). Hinted at by software that works one minute, and dies the next. Hinted at in the way software has been both used for good and for evil.
I know it is only a tool - and any tool can be used for good or bad purposes. But this tool may prove to be the "ultimate" tool (probably only limited by available atomic resources and energy input - I can imagine a nanosystem capable of using the energy of the sun to slowly deconstruct the asteroid belt and assemble a rocky "planet", given a long period of time). It could be a tool that reshapes mankind, and the way society looks at everything.
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Nanotechnology has potential for being beneficial, but I'm sure it will also have potential for being harmful. It isn't like some magical thing that will solve all our problems that the right wingers are keeping from us. Either way, it should be researched carefully and thoroughly.
I think that a closer investigation of politics pretty much reveals that most members of both major parties are up for sale to the highest bidders.
Just pull up the voting records for Dianne Feinstein (D-RIAA/MPAA...errr D-California) and
you'll see what I mean. When they aren't whoring off votes for corporate cash, the two parties are
fighting with eachother like little kids,
pointing fingers at eachother whenever something
goes wrong.
Most of the Democrats are voting along with Republicans in destroying our civil liberties in the wake of this current situation. Both parties have no regard for the Constitution. It seems that those on the left want to trash the 2nd. Amendment, and those on the right want to trash the 4th. Amendment. Either way we lose something.
The whole "Christian" charade that the right wing puts on is getting old, I agree. Most of them forget fun Bible phrases such as, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They go on and on about homosexuals ruining everything, but I'm sure most of them have had their taste of Washington DC prostitutes.
Of course, the left has a nice charade of being on the side of free expression, civil liberties.
Also a barrel of lies in recent days, considering how most of them seem to support all these new, laws we've been seeing that are putting us on a nice course for becoming just another police state.
Computers could have done a lot more than they have
for our society than they have. Nanotech has the potential to do a lot more for our society than it will... partially thanks to the bonehead laws passed by politicians in favor of entities who would watch you bleed and die if it made them five bucks. It isn't just the Republicans. The Democrats are equally at fault. Really, I don't know why these jokers have stuck around since generally, nobody has much confidence in their abilities.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
last post!?