KEY ISSUES: Nanotechnology and "Converging Technologies"

Nanotechnology, the science of the small - the very, very small - has been heralded as the technology of the 21st century. Nanoscale science, which is really an enabling technology that alters the fundamental characteristics of matter and that can be applied in almost every industrial sector, is also been tapped by technological forecasters as the development that will lead to a "convergence" among the fields of biology, information science, and cognitive sciences.

Because of its novelty, minute scale, and ability to change the characteristics of matter, nanotechnology itself has already raised a number of concerns, including potential impacts on human health and the environment and the associated real and perceived business risks, as well as privacy and security questions and distributive justice qualms. The potential nanotechnology-enabled integration, or "convergence," of profoundly transformative sciences poses even more numerous and critical issues, such as a complete transformation of what it means to be human, if some futurists are to be believed.

The unparalleled nature of some of the issues raised by nanotechnology and technological "convergence" are cause for proactive, informed and ongoing public dialogue that leads to considered governance that involves all stakeholders and occurs on a global scale.

For more information on this topic, see:
Center on Nanotechnology and Society
NELSI Global
European Parliamentary Technology Assessment