Newswise — Flying cars are everywhere"¦ large regions of the earth are under transparent domes with controlled weather"¦ elsewhere, single buildings rise miles into the sky"¦ huge areas of the ocean are covered with solar cells"¦ tiny cameras watch everyone everywhere all the time, making sure crime does not pay"¦
In the near future, each of these visions will become possible. They could become reality. But will they? And should they?
Just because something is possible doesn't mean that it will, or should, be done. For example, it would be technologically possible right now to build a wall 100 feet thick and 200 feet high around the island of Manhattan to protect it from future tsunamis. Clearly, though, the downsides—enormous financial cost, problems with transportation, barriers to shipping, ugliness, etc.—far outweigh the upsides.
It is true today, and it will be true tomorrow, that we must choose wisely when determining what to do with the power of technology. But there is one crucial difference between now and then: the range of what is possible.
Our ability to undertake vast projects will increase tremendously in the next decade or two. Much of this will be made possible by molecular manufacturing, a form of advanced nanotechnology.
The above is excerpted from an article written by Mike Treder, Executive Director, The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology. Dr. Treder's full report can be read at
http://www.futurebrief.com/miketrederdarkvisions005.asp
About Mike Treder
Mike Treder is a professional writer, speaker, and activist with a background in technology and communications company management. In 2002, Treder co-founded the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN), a non-profit think tank. CRN promotes public awareness and education, and the crafting of effective policy to maximize benefits and reduce dangers. Treder is executive director of CRN. As an accomplished presenter on the societal implications of emerging technologies, he has addressed conferences and groups in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Brazil.
In addition to his work with CRN, Treder is a Research Fellow with the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, a consultant to the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University and to the Future Technologies Advisory Group, serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Risks Council, is on the Nanotech Briefs Editorial Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors of the World Transhumanist Association, is a member of the Executive Advisory Team for the Extropy Institute, a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, and a member of the World Future Society. He also founded the Incipient Posthuman website and is listed as a "Big Thinker" on KurzweilAI.net. Treder lives in New York City.
About Future Brief
Quantum physics, terrorism, Moore's Law, global warming, increasing human migration, incurable deadly viruses, ever more sophisticated surveillance, the list goes on and on. We speak of "global community", but can forget that community-building has always been a painful experience in human history. The reward potential is balanced by the risk potential. Neither should be ignored.
Scientists today speak of the "NBIC convergence" - the interaction of advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology, the information sciences, and the cognitive sciences. Future Brief takes one step back and looks at the greater convergence of the accelerating changes in science and technology with the equally rapidly accelerating changes in society and politics.
Future Brief is an organic, growing resource center. What you see now is only a beginning. Our purpose is not only to provide commentary, but also to provide services to those with an interest in global convergence. This convergence is of critical importance to all of us today and to those who will follow us in the future. We can either choose to deal constructively with it now or be forced to deal with it abruptly following a global catastrophe. We opt for the former.
Future Brief is an integral part of the work of New Global Initiatives, Inc., an American firm with a global perspective and global operations based in Bethesda, Maryland. However, New Global, as we're called informally, sees Future Brief as a collaborative effort with others sharing similar concerns and interests. Your participation in this site's development is not simply welcomed, it is genuinely encouraged. If you have ideas or recommendations, let us know.
Not only is our global community changing, it is changing at an accelerating pace. If you don't keep up, you will fall behind. Linear thinking will not suffice in an exponentially changing world.
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