KEY ISSUES: MILITARY APPLICATIONS

Many of emerging technologies' novel capabilities are of significant interest to the military, where the potential for making materials stronger, machines smaller and faster, and bodies more resilient is directly relevant to the goals of enforcement, surveillance, and security. This interest is perhaps best illustrate by the fact that the National Nanotechnology Initiative's (NNI) budget includes more than $400 million in 2007 for research directed to nanotechnology's military applications under the auspices of the Department of Defense (DOD).^1,2 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), however, is possibly the federal agency with the greatest stake in emerging technologies ­ proclaiming on its website to be the site of "research and technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions."³ Its project list ranges from the "Quantum Sensors Program" to "BioFuels" to "Self Regenerative Systems"; in all, its programs cover nearly the full gamut of the sciences, with emphasis on nanotechnology, neuroscience, and biotechnology.⁴

Some examples of the military uses for emerging technologies that are currently in the works include the following:⁵

Military Applications of Nanotechnology

• Nanofibers enhancing the strength of armor, while decreasing weight
• Nanoparticles added to coatings for greater hardness and/or smoothness for greater stealth and aerodynamics
• Miniaturized robotic devices for improved surveillance and weaponry

Military Applications of Neuroscience

• Development of mind-machine interfacing leading to thought controlled robots
• Enhancement of MRI technologies for interrogation and lie detection
• Creation of drugs to increase mental performance under stress by reducing mental fatigue and enhancing clarity of thought

Military Applications of Biotechnology

• Development of biosensors for improved detection of biological weaponry
• Increased information storage capabilities through biocomputing
• Creation of biofuels as alternative energy sources
• Fabrication of biological camouflage

¹ See http://www.nano.gov/html/about/funding.html for a breakdown of NNI funding.
² The 2007 funding breakdown for the DOD is available at http://www.darpa.mil/body/pdf/FY07_Final.pdf.
³ DARPA homepage available at http://www.darpa.mil/.
⁴ For a list of programs DARPA, go to http://www.darpa.mil/body/off_programs.html.
⁵ Stephen Wood, Richard Jones, and Alison Geldart, The Social and Economic Challenges of Nanotechnology Report (2003) Economic and Social Research Council, http://www.azonano.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1050.

While technological advances have always provoked questions of ethics and legality when applied to military applications, many believe that military use of today's emerging technologies evokes a heightened and unique set of ethical, legal, and social issues that include human subjects and privacy concerns. No doubt the questions become particularly difficult in a military setting where secrecy and security are valued. Nevertheless, there is a growing call for these issues to be addressed proactively and on a global scale.