Swamps and nanobots
by Paul Miller
The star turns here have been by the �nano-visionaries�. First up was Eric Drexler, originator of the word nanotechnology and the ideas of molecular manufacturing and grey goo. He gave a pretty electrifying presentation and is on the warpath, make no mistake. His gripe is with the people at the top of federal scientific funding in the US who, he claims, are ignoring his original vision of nanotech in the way they hand out grants through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). As evidence he let it be known that they tried to block him speaking at this conference.
Drexler�s (slightly) conspiratorial argument is that they�re trying to stifle debate about the possible downsides of nanotechnology by just saying that the idea of building things up from the atomic scale is impossible � end of story. He claims this is dangerous because, while we haven�t managed it yet, he believes it is eventually possible and we won�t be prepared for it when it arrives. His final damning indictment was, �Terrorism will not destroy the United States. The NNI, however, may well do�. Fairly harsh I thought, but I guess I haven�t been the victim of a campaign to discredit me. Well not yet anyway.
His co-founder of the Foresight Institute, which promotes molecular manufacturing, Christine Peterson reinforced this in slightly less dramatic fashion saying, �If you ignore molecular manufacturing in debates about nanotechnology you end up talking about the societal implications of better tennis racquets.�
Then there was James von Ehr who is an interesting guy. Multi gazillionaire (he claims he�s the person who�s sunk the most into nanotechnology � some $40 million of his own cash), friend of George Bush and fiercely pro �freedom and choice�, he�s CEO of a company called Zyvex � perhaps best known for their stated goal of creating a nano assembler along the lines of Drexler�s vision. They�ve removed all mention of Drexler from the website now though and are working on commercialising products they find on their way to that goal that aren�t strictly nanotech.
It�s been a fascinating slice into the US scientific and technological establishment and we�ve met some really interesting US academics working on projects with overlaps and potential for collaboration with our own one. Phil Macnaghten (from Lancaster) and me are presenting our paper on Sunday morning. I�ll post the text on the project weblog afterwards.