42 Planet of the Arts / March 1997 incarnation, lik day, it has play possibilities of engineer doing the uncanny relationship ith hearing aids, pace- is almost ordinary: Sti repairing damaged cells or r cells. In addition to acting as one giant step t id of nanotechnolox rds evolving into a Be Of course, this is al! still the- int. Theory could become reality. fs with this general assumption of the that | will explore the social and politi- tions of nanotechnology as it relates age of human to post-human. Not a n written on this, as those who do le subject concentrate on the science he consequences of such a technol- eless, an investigation into the d who benefits, shall be made. into these matters, however, ingle- handedly creating this field of study, debate amongst the nanoist community. him the credit but this is open t . When it first came out, it was e fiction. Slowly, but surely, the field imacy. Since then, he received the gy and simultaneously created the At at MIT. He founded the ; the opportunities and chal- igy,3 has written numerous , and has been on the . widely regarded as: of study has gained f first Ph.D. in nanotec nanotechnology depart Foresight Institute to a lenges posed by nanotec books and articles on the s The basic idea of nanotechno ‘ live in bodies made of atoms on ide of atoms, and difference. ass, and strength. A hammer is a large collection of ‘atom + a molecule is a small collection. Both are held together with th Molecular machines are simply machines ma .scale parts having carefully arranged atoms.4 These structures have dimensions in the range nm.5 (A nanometre is one billionth of a metre.) ...[NJanotechnology begins with the idea of a molectifz assembler, a device resembling an industrial robot arm built on a microscopic scale. A general-purpose molecular assem- bler will be a jointed mechanism built from rigid molecular parts, driven by motors, controlled by computers, and able to grasp and apply molecular-scale tools. Molecular assemblers can be used to build other molecular machines — they can even build more molecular assemblers. Assemblers and other 3 tation of the human body iWW Dialectic machines in molecular-manufacturin« d above, could then build a copy of itself. ¥ _xeplicate themselves, and so on, and so irstly, it promises to eliminate pove reduclag the cost of manufactured run off of solar energy. Raw m and cheap with the ability to elements found in dirt and air. Th t export and import raw materials, or the prod that matter. Many assembler-systems would be fo the home reducing the cost of land and the need for ution.7 These mini-factories, the size of a microwave oven, could sproduce: sone. television sets, or stereos without a f the cow or vegetable. Go would cost next t hing and everyone could accu wealth easily i ‘society. Does this mean mass unemp| ment? ‘are two schools of Nase One agrees that : stems will be able to : test within a few nanorobots that he wearer's skin rovide constant dioxide with sun- ould have a prototype ready suits would have a filmy laye to the wearer’s needs and ke by the suit. its listed above are just ties that wauid enhance our daily live he assumption that the ally without strings att iffering throughout t Nanotechriology, however, is equ; could be use’ assist catio ‘e would be a dustries shift towards jobs in service and informatié requiring specific human skills. This would increase because of desi or more cus- tomized services or hand-crafted goods in light of the fact that everyone would have the same top mass manufactured products available. There would be @ demand for originality to distinguish oneself from her/his neighbour. People would also be more free to pursue the careers they want, including the arts and academia. Or taking advantage of the low cost of living, one could choose ot work at all. Lastly, it almost goes without saying, leisure e would be more abundant for everyone. Nanotechnology could also be used to restore the envi- ronment to its pristine state. Toxic materials could be absorbed by the nangrobots and then converted to harmless “compounds. Or more dramatically, nanomachines could ecord the genome of a living species, then recreate the ih pardtechnology. As with consumer goods, the cost of manufacturing Spacecraft would be drastically reduced. Developing models would be cheap and fast as _you a new body, and the structure of y ‘epairing DNA, the cum s extension of life. cur, though. chines would constantly bé used to maintain the youthful structure of the cell, ena ig us to live thousands of years without disease, wrinkles, and memory loss which are the result of damaged molecular machinery, chemical imbalances, and misarranged structu fact, cell repair makes cryogen feasible. Nanorobots would help rev process and repair frostbite damage to the brain and other organs. Another scenario, to the extr me, is an “information bank” that would download the exact three-dimensional location of each molecule in your brain along with a sample of your DNA. So should the occasion arise and your brain and/or body is destroyed, the DNA would be used to grow brain would be set to the pattern that was stored.13 A whole new you, even though you were destroyed beyond nanoworld repair. The extension of life, barring severe accidents and not having a deposit at the above DNA and brain bank, would be as we know it today, bodies stored by this “ as close to immortality as humanly possible. Of course, this brings up the issue of overpopulation. While resources would 42 Planet of the Arts / March 1997 WW Dialectic Nanotechnology And its tar Trek turns 30 this year, and Trekkers or Trekkies around the world are celebrating, Since is original incarnation, like ather popular science-fiction of the day, i has played a role in foreshadowing the then possibilities of the present future. lam not refering to interstellar travel so much as smaller smarter ‘computers and wireless communication devices which ae as, ‘commonplace today a desk-top computers, the Internet, and cellular phones. That isnot to suggest that these technolo ‘ies would not have happened without these science-fiction writers, but that iti often hard to tell who feeds who; the science-fiction writer or the scientist and engineer doing the ‘esearch and development. There i an uncanny relationship, between the two entities. Are they two sides ofthe same coin? Surely, the line between technological fiction and non- fiction is increasingly Blured, The cyborg, part human, part ‘machine, is such a case-' Whether with hearing ais, pace- ‘makers, or artificial hearts, augmentation of the human body with machinic parts i almost ordinary. Sil, we do not resem ble many of the popular notions of the cyborg found in scienceefction whete machine is dominant. We are presently, ‘more “human” than machine. But, this could change in the ext century. Imagine this scenario: a few milion robots, each the size ‘of amoleeuie, in your body repairing damaged cells or attacking viruses and cancer cells. In adaition to acting as ‘medicine, they would become part of our daily maintenance routine, We would come to rly on these machines to keep Ls healthy and alive. And, we, asthe human species, wil have taken one giant step towards evolving into a borg withthe aid of nanotechnology. Of course, thsi all stil the- ‘retical, but atthe same time, ftcan not be discounted a 3 possibilty ofthe future. Currently there is active research in ‘nanotechnology, also known as molecular technology, with ‘governmental, economie, and scientific commitment to con- tinue for years to come. They have just scratched the surface at this point. Theory could become reality. So it is wth this general assumption of the posible that! wil explore the socal and polit- ‘al implications of nanotechnology asi relates to the passage of human to post-human, Not a lot has been written on this, as those who do ‘write on the subject concentrate on the science rather than the consequences of such atechnol- ‘ogy. Nevertheless, an investigation ‘into. the Issues of nanotechnology as it relates to the ‘body in terms of evolution, immortality, poten tial hazards; and who benefits, shall be made. Before delving into these matters, however, a brief and general background of what mans ‘technology is and what its promises or poten- tial applications are would be appropriate. “The leading proponent of nanotechnology 's Dr. K. Eri Drenler Some have arguably given him the credit ofsinle- handedly creating this field of study. but this is open to debate amongst the nanoist community He wrote Engines of Creation? a decade ago, the first ever bbook on nanetechnology. When it fist came out, it was widely regarded as scence fiction. Slowly, but surely, the field ‘of study has gained legitimacy Since then, he received the first PhD. in nanotechnology and simultaneously created the nanotechnology department at MIT. He founded the Foresight Institute to address the opportunities and chal lenges posed by nanotechnology. has writen numerous books and articles onthe subject, and has been on the lecture circuit inspiring nanoists everywhere. In describing what nanotechnology she writes: The basic idea of nanotechnology is straightforward. We live in bodies made of atoms on a planet made of atoms, and how those atoms are arranged makes allthe difference, Atoms are objects. They have size, shape, mass, and strength ‘hammer i a large collection of atoms: a molecule is» small Collection. Both are held together with the same forces Molecular machines ae simply machines made of molecular- scale parts having carefully arranged atoms-+ ‘These structures have dimensions in the range of 0.1100, ram’ (A nanometre is one billionth of a metre) [Nanotechnology begins with the idea of a molecular assembler, a device resembling an industrial robot arm built ‘on a microscopic scale. A general-purpose molecular assem bler wil be a jointed mechanism built from rigid molecular parts, driven by motors, controlled by computers, and abe to ‘rasp and apply molecular-scale tools. Molecular assemblers, ‘an be used to build other molecular machines - they can even build more molecular assemblers. Assemblers and other ‘machines in molecular-manufacturing systems wil be able to make almost anything, f given the right raw materials Ina top down model, Beginning on a larger sale, ‘machines that have the sophistication to build smaller ‘machines would be required. With each smaller version, an ‘even smaller one would be built by the former —unti the Aesired molecular-scale is reached. Ths first assembler, stated above, could then build a copy of itself. The two ‘would replicate themselves, and so on, and s0 on, 95 it would 'be absolutely inefficient to build an assembler one at a time. Ina fash billions of selt-xeplicating nanoassemblets would ‘exist. And, when these nanomachines, each with the ability to,eposition atoms, are equipped with nanocomputers the applications of this technology would be endless and quite revolutionary. Its important to note that collectively, these rnanorobots could tackle projects of any scale, such as aircraft ‘and underground tunnels, due to their number, efficiency, ‘and speed. They are not limited to the nano-scale, The fo owing, then, are some examples of potential scenarios once nanotechnology isin place, reducing the cost of manufactured goods. {Manotechnology itself would be affordable due to its selfxeplicating nature) Labour costs would be non-exis- ‘tent as nanorobots would replace the factory worker Eneray costs would also be minimized as the nanoassemblers would ‘un off of solar energy. Raw materials would be abundant. {and cheap with the ablity to rearrange atoms of common ‘elements found in drt and ai. There would be no need to export and import raw materials, or the product itself, for ‘that matter. Many assemblersystems would be found within ‘the home reducing the cost of land and the need for distrib: These minifactories the size of a microwave oven, could [Produce computers, television sets, or stereos without 3 Broblem. And, not unlike the food repliators found on Star Trek home food-growing machines could reproduce steak Or F rst, it promises to eliminate poverty by drastically Like all revolutions it will solve some problems while creating others. vegetables without having t kill the cow or pick the vegeta- bles by culturing the calls ofthe cow or vegetable. Goods ‘would cost next to nothing and everyone could accumulate ‘wealth easly in this nanoworl ‘As mentioned above, the factory worker would be elimi ‘ated from society. Does this mean mass unemployment? There are two schools of thought. One agrees that there would be great social and economic upheaval cused by full automation, The other is more optimistic. There would be a ‘shift towards jobs in service and information industries requiring specific human skills. This would increase because of desires for more cus tomized services or hand:-