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."

Comments

*ahem* Nanotech Business Coalition?

[The Great Wakka]

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.

Nanotech for Nano AI

[Mentifex]

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!

What we need...

[Anonymous Coward]

...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.

This is not a good time for them

[dfeldman]

We, as (mostly) educated computer professionals, understand the importance of researching nanotechnology. Nanotechnology will inevitably help cure diseases, create "smart" materials like insulation and clothing, and generally wean us off our dependence on hard-to-produce, expensive natural resources like body tissues and cotton.

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

Nanotech, and the economic disruption...

[cr0sh]

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)...