You, nanobot
Scientists are on the verge of breaking the carbon barrier — creating artificial life and changing forever what it means to be human. And we’re not ready.
I just read this article on Salon. Its a little inflammatory but OK. I agree that we aren’t ready for a nanobiotech revolution, fortunately, it won’t be happening for quite a while. Our fear of the paradigm shifting technology will stave off a Neal Stephenson Diamond Age future through legislation and litigation.
Lets set aside the artifical life/inteligence “Matrix” stuff for a moment. What scares the status quo so much is the potential for bionanotech to be completely decentralized our economy to the point where governments and corporations will lose control. When they comes, new technologies will be user derived, open source and made by small design houses, or worse, individuals. How will that be regulated, bought or sold? When in home fabrication becomes routine. Economies will shift from delivering products to delivering commodities and generating content. If manufacturing turns into simply delivering raw materials, billions of first world dollars will have gone to waste on creating an obsolete infrastructure. Millions of skilled workers will have no future once their jobs have been replaced by an in home appliance. Of course, advertising and fashion will be as important as ever.
OK now the far future issues. Yes, we will start to let go of our definition of life and sentience, and there will be a backlash and conflict with fundamentalism. But there will be communities that are brave enough to face the dilution of our humanity and conciousness. This is likely to be an urban movement, but given that we will cease to be reliant on a centralized supply chain, there is every reason for nanobiotech friendly colonies to fluorish away from a culture less bold.
There is a lot to be afraid of from either end of the spectrum, from giant killer robots to torch bearing not-so-smart mobs. We have plenty to be afraid of right now, like AIDS cancer and ethnic religious violence. While we fear new technology, historically the greatest threats to our society have come from ignorance, hatred, prejudice and corruption. Should we be afraid of a potentially dagerous new technolgy or the ignorant and self rightous hand which would use it? What we shouldn’t fear is the future, or at least not specificly.