A short position paper on how we can preemptively anticipate and design nanotechnology-safe futures

Umbrello, Steven

English

Institutional Research Information System University of Turin

Designing a Nano-Safe FutureSteven Umbrelloa,∗a Institute for Ethics and Emerging TechnologiesKeywords: nanotechnology, atomically precise manufacturing, value sensitive design,ethicsNanotechnologies are fast becoming one of the most ubiquitous of the emerging technologiesto have a commercial and economic impact. Along with artificial intelligence systems andbiotechnologies, nanotechnology is a billion-dollar global industry that has massive productimplications.Made famous by K. Eric Drexler, Molecular Manufacturing (also known as atomicallyprecise manufacturing, molecular engineering or productive molecular nanosystems) is anemerging manufacturing technology that has the potential to shift current economic, societaland cultural norms radically. As the name implies, molecular manufacturing is the namegiven to a manufacturing technology that is capable of constructing objects from the moleculeup. This atomic level of control will allow for an unprecedented scale of accuracy andtolerance in products manufacturedMolecular manufacturing promises to usher in an era of radical abundance in whichproducts such as medicines and foods can be manufactured in large quantities, using inputmaterials of our choice, with little-to-no harmful by-products and at little cost. Although thistechnology does not yet exist; once created, we should possess an efficient and cost-effectivesystem for controlling matter. These breathtaking advances in medicine, food supply andgeneral material wealth will substantially change the very conceptions of contemporary eco-nomics, but also improved the quality of life for billions of people around the globe. Thoseends, however, with promises of great material wealth and abundance, also come with thepotential for existential risks. The most significant risks come not even from nanotechnologyitself but from its convergence characteristic. What does that mean exactly? It means thatnanotechnology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence have many overlapping qualitiesthat make them symbiotic with one another. Nanorobots require artificial intelligence sys-tems to build specific infrastructures. Some may require the capacity to be programmed sothat they can discriminate between specific types of cells to terminate and which to leaveunharmed.This convergence characteristic blurs many of the lines of liability. More importantly, itmakes the application of existent governance systems hard to apply. What may apply to onedomain may not apply to another. However, what happens when a particular technology∗Corresponding author.Email address: steve@ieet.org (Steven Umbrello)February 7, 2018simultaneously exists in two or more domains at one time? The differentiates brings to bearemerging ethical and social issues.One of the primary concerns, however, is ensuring that effective governance is under-taken proactively to ensure recursive improvement over time and avoiding ex-post facto,reactive governance measures that may ultimately prove to be ineffective. The difficulty inaccomplishing this, however, is that many of the technologies, particularly artificial intel-ligence, are making developmental leaps on a continual basis, with almost no governancemeasures put in place to curtail any adverse outcomes that may potentially emerge. Thisfailure of implementing early stage regulatory controls is a recipe for disasters as the issuesthat may emerge from a hard takeoff of AI, and the unrestricted use of nanotechnologiesand biotechnologies can prove to be catastrophic.Major stakeholders and policymakers must ensure that the current developmental trendsare directed in such a way that best ensures the beneficial development of molecular man-ufacturing systems. Doing this requires not only regulatory measures at an internationallevel to be implemented but also an incorporation of values at the early design phases ofthese technologies to ensure a safe developmental trajectory. This two-pronged measure isthe best feasible way to guide technologies development on a desirable pathway.• Value Sensitive Design (VSD): Taking into account the scope of the impacts of APM,technology is not value neutral. A design approach such as Value Sensitive Designmust be employed to account for the broad range of stakeholder values during earlydesign phases. Ensuring that the values held by both direct stakeholders (e.g., users)and indirect stakeholders (e.g., developers). This instrument provides a systematicmeans to identify stakeholders, value implications, and effects of a proposed designearly in the design process. By adopting a VSD approach to the design of molecularmanufacturing the values held by stakeholders at all socio-economic statuses can beaccounted for and incorporated into the design of the technology to ensure the highestlikelihood of producing a beneficial product.• International Regulation: The design of technologies such as APM, with their far-ranging impacts, requires the design and implementation of international regulatoryframeworks that are capable of efficient surveillance of developmental groups (govern-mental, private, or rogue) as well enforcement and intervention. This will require theunilateral cooperation between nation states in drafting de novo legislation that is bothpotent, yet not burdensome to innovation. Additionally, international regulations mustbe delicately balanced according to existing regulations governing nanomaterials andproducts at the state level to ensure better harmonization and reduce any regulatoryoverlap. Soft-law strategies pose as the best option for exploratory and speculativetechnologies that are built upon existing technologies (i.e., nanotechnologies). Thisform of anticipatory soft-governance permits the adoption of new changes into a reg-ulatory framework that can keep pace with the continually advancing technologies itaims to govern.One of the difficulties in determining what exactly should be done now with technologyFebruary 7, 2018is the fact that the technology that is in question does not yet exist. However, the risksassociated with its ubiquitous enrollment make questions about its design and governanceessential questions to ask before it becomes a societal issue. The risks associated with thereleases of nanotechnology, AI, and biotechnology are existential with global catastrophicimpacts should something go awry. This means that we have to seriously account for the factthat there is a cost for not adopting a design philosophy that accounts for real human valuesduring design. Ignoring the design of technologies, particularly ones that have these typesof risks associated with them, may prove devastating in the long run as latent issues emergeover time. The moral of the story then is that we should have already acted in this way,yesterday would have been better today, but today is still available for action. A design-for-values approach like VSD provides the best means of designing nanotechnology with values.Although something may come along later that make VSD obsolete, debating which is bettermay ultimately prove all design philosophies useless, especially if the technology in questionis developed before anything is implemented.Nanotechnology and other converging technologies can without a doubt potentially pro-vide us a future of peace, security, and material abundance. However, just as quickly theycan cause harm of devastating proportions. Reducing those risks, in light of the continuingresearch and development of these technologies is paramount. We must take the steps nec-essary to ensure that not only the use of the technology is regulated once it is developed,but the course of its development is regulated now before we are faced with issues too bigto deal with.AcknowledgementsThe views in the paper are the authors’ alone and not the views of the Institute forEthics and Emerging Technologies.February 7, 2018

Designing a Nano-Safe Future

PhilPapers

https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/1685530/1/Designing_a_NanoSafe_Future-2018-02-07-21-45.pdf

Designing a Nano-Safe Future

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Institutional Research Information System University of Turin

PhilPapers