Think small. The nanotechnology boom is beginning. Now how do we keep it under control?

Engines of Creation 2.0: Molecular Engineering: An Approach to the Development of General Capabilities for Molecular Manipulation By K. Eric Drexler
Developing the ability to design protein molecules will make it possible to construct molecular machines. These can then build second-generation machines that can perform extremely general synthesis of three-dimensional molecular structures, thus permitting construction of devices and materials to complex atomic specifications. This has important implications for computation and for characterization, manipulation, and repair of biological materials. (Added March 20th 2007)

Engines of Creation 2.0: Advice To Aspiring Nanotechnologists By K. Eric Drexler
It makes no practical sense to try to build a molecular assembler today. But we can build enabling technologies today, including protein engineering, general macromolecular engineering, and micromanipulation techniques, which will make it easier to build assemblers tomorrow. So, students preparing for a career in nanotech are advised to learn the fundamentals of molecular science and technology. (Added March 15th 2007)

Engines of Creation 2.0: Letter From Author By K. Eric Drexler
Engines of Creation in 1986 inspired an explosion of interest in nanotechnology. Version 2.0 updates this classic book, including new concepts for molecular manufacturing and new uses for nanotech, such as removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and compressing it to liquid density for long-term storage. (Added March 15th 2007)

Engine on a Chip By Iddo Genuth
Imagine a millimeter-size personal turbine engine that could meet all your personal electrical needs. That's the vision of MIT researchers, who plan to have an operational prototype by mid-2007. First uses (3-5 years): 10-50 watts for high end laptops and military gadgets. (Added February 9th 2007)

I, Nanobot By Alan H Goldstein
The coming elimination of the barrier between living and nonliving materials will lead to "animats" (living materials) -- nanobiotechnology devices that can survive and function inside human beings, derive energy from biological metabolism, and copy themselves by molecular self-assembly. When that moment happens, it very likely may be beyond our control.... (Added July 7th 2006)

Corporate Cornucopia By Michael Vassar
Molecular nanotech is the largest commercial opportunity of all time. But it may also create severe roadblocks and risks, including terrorism, unstable arms races, competitive pricing, restrictive patents, import opposition, economic disruption, and out-of-control AI. (Added May 24th 2006)

Molecular Manufacturing and the Need for Crime Science By Deborah Osborne
Molecular manufacturing increases the potential for high-tech crimes; it can also be used to prevent them, says a crime analyst and book author. (Added May 24th 2006)

Are We Enlightened Guardians, Or Are We Apes Designing Humans? By Douglas Mulhall
Thanks in part to molecular manufacturing, accelerated developments in AI and brain reverse-engineering could lead to the emergence of superintelligence in just 18 years. Are we ready for the implications -- like possible annihilation of Homo sapiens? And will we seem to superintelligence what our ape-like ancestors seem to us: primitive? (Added May 22nd 2006)

Considering Military and Ethical Implications of Nanofactory Level Nanotechnology By Brian Wang
Nanofactory-level nanotechnology could make current weapons systems obsolete and make genocide and super-oppression easier. So the economic bounty from nanotechnology should be used to reduce motivations for conflict. For example, if nanotechnology makes a nation's economy grow at 24% per year, in three years, that nation will have twice as much stuff; they would have less incentive to attack an equal-size opponent and try to take their stuff. (Added May 9th 2006)

The (Needed) New Economics of Abundance By Steve Burgess
Molecular manufacturing coupled with AI could bring about a "personal manufacturing" revolution and a new era of abundance. But abundance could be highly disruptive, so we need to design a new economics of abundance so society is prepared for it. (Added May 9th 2006)

Safer Molecular Manufacturing through Nanoblocks By Tom Craver
Lego-style "nanoblocks" could prevent a molecular-assembly fabber from building an atom-precise nanofactory or devices that could help in any attempt to "bootstrap" production of an atom-precise nanofactory, reducing the risk of proliferation of atom-precise MM to "rogue nations" or terrorists. (Added May 9th 2006)

From The Enlightenment to N-Lightenment By Michael Buerger
The criminal potentials inherent in molecular manufacturing include powerful new illegal drugs, mass murder via compromised assembly codes, and a "killer virus" crossing out of cyberspace into the physical realm. A criminal-justice futurist examines the possibilities. (Added May 8th 2006)

Economic Impact of the Personal Nanofactory By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Deflationary forces resulting from mass availability of desktop personal nanofactories can be opposed by inflationary forces competently initiated by governmental monetary authorities. (Added May 8th 2006)

More Essays on Nanotechnology Implications By Mike Treder and Chris Phoenix
Members of the Global Task Force of The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) have written 11 new essays addressing the implications of molecular manufacturing. KurzweilAI.net will be posting all 11, starting today with essays by Nick Bostrom (Nanoethics and Technological Revolutions) and Robert A. Freitas, Jr. (What Price Freedom?). (Added May 5th 2006)

What Price Freedom? By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Is a tyrannized humanity worth preserving, even at the expense of its freedom, in order to maintain the very existence of the human species, recognizing that global tyranny is a logical end-state of the unchecked spread of nanotechnology-enabled dictatorships that are capable of employing perfect mind control? (Added May 5th 2006)

Empowering the Really Little Guys By Glenn Harlan Reynolds
"Individuals are getting more and more powerful," says author Glenn Reynolds in his insightful new book, An Army of Davids. "With the current rate of progress we're seeing in biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and other technologies, it seems likely that individuals will one day--and one day relatively soon--possess powers once thought available only to nation-states, superheroes, or gods. That sounds dramatic, but we're already partway there"--and nanotechnology may be the "ultimate empowerer of ordinary people." (Added April 10th 2006)

Nanotech Basics By Chris Phoenix and Mike Treder
Members of the Global Task Force of The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) have written 11 key essays addressing the profound implications of molecular manufacturing. They were published in the current issue of Nanotechnology Perceptions and are also available on KurzweilAI.net for discussion on the MindX forum. (Added March 27th 2006)

Nanotechnology Dangers and Defenses By Ray Kurzweil
To avoid dangers such as unrestrained nanobot replication, we need relinquishment at the right level and to place our highest priority on the continuing advance of defensive technologies, staying ahead of destructive technologies. An overall strategy should include a streamlined regulatory process, a global program of monitoring for unknown or evolving biological pathogens, temporary moratoriums, raising public awareness, international cooperation, software reconnaissance, and fostering values of liberty, tolerance, and respect for knowledge and diversity. (Added March 27th 2006)

Molecular Manufacturing: Too Dangerous to Allow? By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Despite the risks of molecular manufacturing, such as global ecophagy, replication is not new. Engineered self-replication technologies are already in wide commercial use and can be made inherently safe. And defenses we've already developed against harmful biological replicators all have analogs in the mechanical world that should provide equally effective, or even superior, defenses. (Added March 27th 2006)

The Need For Limits By Chris Phoenix
Molecular manufacturing will give its wielders extreme power and has the potential to remove or bypass many of today's limits, including laws. That could lead to a planet-wide dictatorship, or to any of several forms of irreversible destruction. Perhaps the biggest problem of all will be how to develop a system of near-absolute power that will not become corrupt. (Added March 24th 2006)

Revolution in a Box By Mike Treder, Chris Phoenix, and Jamais Cascio
The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology has a modest goal: to ensure that the planet navigates the emerging nanotech era safely. CRN's founders discuss the promises and perils of nanotechnology, as well as the need for a middle ground between resignation and relinquishment. (Added March 22nd 2006)

Interview with Robert A. Freitas Jr. Part 2 By Robert A. Freitas Jr. and Sander Olson
There are very few diseases or conditions--including infectious diseases--aside from physical brain damage, that cannot be cured using nanomedicine, says nanomedicine pioneer Robert A. Freitas Jr. He believes nanomedicine's greatest power will emerge in a decade or two as we learn to design and construct complete artificial nanorobots using diamondoid nanometer-scale parts and subsystems. (Added February 2nd 2006)

Interview with Robert A. Freitas Jr. Part 1 By Sander Olson and Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Robert A. Freitas Jr. has written pioneering books on nanomedicine, nanorobots, and molecular manufacturing. What's next? The last two books in the Nanomedicine series and a book on fundamentals of nanomechanical engineering, extending Eric Drexler's classic Nanosystems, he reveals in this interview. (Added February 2nd 2006)

How To Make a Nanodiamond By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Robert A. Freitas Jr. has filed the first known patent application on positional mechanosynthesis, which is also the first on positional diamond mechanosynthesis. The "Freitas process" -- more fully described here -- is a method for building a tool for molecularly precise fabrication of physical structures. Methods of making diamondoid structures are detailed here, but the same toolbuilding process can be extended to other materials, mechanosynthetic processes, and structures. And those tools can be used to create bigger structures, which .... (Added January 27th 2006)

Foresight call to action By Christine Peterson
Despite the revolutionary promise of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) excludes explicit funding for MNT. The recent Drexler-Smalley debate in Chemical & Engineering News offers an opportunity to correct that. Foresight president Christine Peterson suggests how. (Added December 16th 2003)

Design of a Primitive Nanofactory By Chris Phoenix
Molecular manufacturing requires more than mechanochemistry. A single nanoscale fabricator cannot build macro-scale products. This paper describes the mechanisms, structures, and processes of a prototypical macro-scale, programmable nanofactory composed of many small fabricators. Power requirements, control of mechanochemistry, reliability in the face of radiation damage, convergent assembly processes and joint mechanisms, and product design are discussed in detail, establishing that the design should be capable of duplicating itself. Nanofactory parameters are derived from plausible fabricator parameters. The pre-design of a nanofactory and many products appears to be within today's capabilities. Bootstrapping issues are discussed briefly, indicating that nanofactory development might occur quite soon after fabricator development. Given an assembler, a nanofactory appears feasible and worthwhile, and should be accounted for in assembler policy discussions. (Added December 4th 2003)

Drexler Counters By K. Eric Drexler
In this third in a series of letters addressing molecular assemblers, Eric Drexler responds to Prof. Richard Smalley's response to Drexler's original open letter. Countering Smalley's argument that solution-phase chemistry is required, Drexler explains that nanofactories are instead based on mechanosynthesis -- "machine-phase" chemistry -- and "need no impossible fingers to control the motion of individual atoms within reactants." (Added December 1st 2003)

The Drexler-Smalley Debate on Molecular Assembly By Ray Kurzweil
Nanotechnology pioneer Eric Drexler and Rice University Professor and Nobelist Richard Smalley have engaged in a crucial debate on the feasibility of molecular assembly. Smalley's position, which denies both the promise and the peril of molecular assembly, will ultimately backfire and will fail to guide nanotechnology research in the needed constructive direction, says Ray Kurzweil. By the 2020s, molecular assembly will provide tools to effectively combat poverty, clean up our environment, overcome disease, extend human longevity, and many other worthwhile pursuits, he predicts. (Added December 1st 2003)

Book Review: How does the body react to medical nanodevices? By Ralph C. Merkle
Nanomedicine, Volume IIA: Biocompatibility, the second volume in Robert A. Freitas, Jr.'s Nanomedicine series, has been published just in time to provide an authoritative scientific foundation to address the growing concerns about the biocompatibility of nanotechnology in the environmental and medical communities. (Added November 19th 2003)

Nanomedicine By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
In Nanomedicine, Vol. I: Basic Capabilities, first in the four-volume Nanomedicine technical book series, Robert A. Freitas, Jr. offers a pioneering and fascinating glimpse into a molecular-nanotechnology future with far-reaching implications for the medical profession -- and ultimately for the radical improvement and extension of natural human biological structure and function. (Added November 18th 2003)

Molecular Manufacturing: Start Planning By Chris Phoenix
Molecular nanotechnology manufacturing is coming soon. The economic value--and military significance--of a nanofactory will be immense. But if a well-designed plan is not in place, serious risks will very likely lead to military destruction, social or economic disruption or unnecessary human suffering on a large scale. Here's what needs to be done. (Added October 9th 2003)

Toward closure: Open letter to Prof. Smalley By K. Eric Drexler
Prof. Richard Smalley has criticized Dr. Eric Drexler's concept of molecular assemblers. But in recent testimony, Smalley appears to have reversed this position. Drexler, who coined the term "nanotechnology" and is Chairman of the Board of Foresight Institute, again calls for Smalley to clarify his position on what is "perhaps the most fundamental issue in the field today." (Added July 18th 2003)

Review of Nanocosm By Chris Phoenix
The new book Nanocosm reports on exciting advances in nanotech but suffers from numerous technical inaccuracies and distortions of the work of nanotech pioneers. (Added June 6th 2003)

An Open Letter to Richard Smalley By K. Eric Drexler
Dr. Richard Smalley has voiced criticisms of Dr. Eric Drexler's concept of molecular assemblers, which could be used to implement self-replicating nanobots. Smalley, who discovered "fullerenes" (aka "buckyballs"), is Chairman of the Board of Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc. and former director of Rice University's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. Drexler, who coined the term "nanotechnology" and is Chairman of the Board of Foresight Institute, responds to these criticisms. (Added April 17th 2003)

The Future of Nanotechnology: Molecular Manufacturing By K. Eric Drexler
The future generations of nanotechnology will rely on being able to effectively arrange atoms. Molecular manufacturing, and the use of molecular assemblers to hold and position molecules, will be key to the future, controlling how molecules react and allowing scientists to build complex structures with atomically precise control. In this essay, Dr. Drexler discusses the benefits and challenges of future molecular manufacturing. (Added April 14th 2003)

Congressional hearing addresses public concerns about nanotech By Amara D. Angelica
Concerns about the possible negative consequences of nanotech may stifle vital nanotech research that could otherwise result in medical and other important breakthroughs. Expert witnesses at a congressional hearing recommended wider public debate, greater resources to develop defensive technology, and funding of societal, ethical, and environmental impact studies along with technology forecasting and basic science studies. (Added April 13th 2003)

Molecular Manufacturing: Societal Implications of Advanced Nanotechnology By Christine Peterson
The best way to reduce risks from molecular manufacturing would be an open, international R&D; program with broad cooperation by the democracies, including a parallel arms control verification project. This requires a decision to pursue the goal and substantial funding. But both of these are currently blocked by the lack of consensus on the technical feasibility of molecular manufacturing. So we urgently need a basic feasibility review by unbiased scientists. (Added April 10th 2003)

Testimony of Ray Kurzweil on the Societal Implications of Nanotechnology By Ray Kurzweil
Despite calls to relinquish research in nanotechnology, we will have no choice but to confront the challenge of guiding nanotechnology in a constructive direction. Advances in nanotechnology and related advanced technologies are inevitable. Any broad attempt to relinquish nanotechnology will only push it underground, which would interfere with the benefits while actually making the dangers worse. (Added April 8th 2003)

Safe Utilization of Advanced Nanotechnology By Chris Phoenix and Mike Treder
The "gray goo" scenario and other dangers of advanced nanotechnology can be avoided with a centrally controlled, relatively large, self-contained nanofactory, administered by a central authority and with restricted-design software. (Added January 28th 2003)

Don't let Crichton's Prey scare you--the science isn't real By Chris Phoenix
A review of Michael Crichton's Prey, a novel featuring out-of-control, self-replicating nanotechnology. (Added January 27th 2003)

Death is an Outrage By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Each year, we allow a destruction of knowledge equivalent to three Libraries of Congress with an average value of about $2 million dollars for each human life lost. The solution: "dechronification"--nanomedicine tools that can arrest biological aging and reduce your biological age. (Added January 10th 2003)

Dialogue between Ray Kurzweil, Eric Drexler, and Robert Bradbury By K. Eric Drexler, Ray Kurzweil, and Robert Bradbury
What would it take to achieve successful cryonics reanimation of a fully functioning human brain, with memories intact? A conversation at the recent Alcor Conference on Extreme Life Extension between Ray Kurzweil and Eric Drexler sparked an email discussion of this question. They agreed that despite the challenges, the brain's functions and memories can be represented surprisingly compactly, suggesting that successful reanimation of the brain may be achievable. (Added December 4th 2002)

The Alcor Conference on Extreme Life Extension By Ray Kurzweil
On November 15-17, 2002, leaders in life extension and cryonics came together to explore how the emerging technologies of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and cryonics will enable humans to halt and ultimately reverse aging and disease and live indefinitely. (Added November 21st 2002)

Tangible Nanomoney By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Robert Freitas, author of the recently-published groundbreaking technical book Nanomedicine, reflects on how we might pay for very advanced medicine -- or indeed, pay for anything at all -- in a world where artificial molecular machine systems are commonplace. Hint: Perhaps we'll be using coins made of tantalum or ununquadium! (Added July 9th 2002)

Clottocytes: Artificial Mechanical Platelets By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Nanorobotic artificial mechanical platelets ("clottocytes") may allow for complete hemostasis in as little as one second – 100 to 1000 times faster than the natural system and 10,000 times more effective in terms of bloodstream concentration. They could also work internally. Using acoustic pulses, a blood vessel break could be rapidly communicated to neighboring clottocytes, immediately triggering a progressive controlled mesh-release cascade. (Added April 12th 2002)

Microbivores: Artificial Mechanical Phagocytes By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Nanorobotic "microbivores" traveling in the bloodstream could be 1000 times faster-acting than white blood cells and eradicate 1000 times more bacteria, offering a complete antimicrobial therapy without increasing the risk of sepsis or septic shock (as in traditional antibiotic regimens) and without release of biologically active effluents. They could also quickly rid the blood of nonbacterial pathogens such as viruses, fungus cells, or parasites. (Added April 11th 2002)

Green or Gray? By Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Will the future be green (based on biotechnology) or gray (based on nanotechnology and nanotech-powered AI)? Ray Kurzweil and Gregory Stock will debate this issue at the Foresight Senior Associate Gathering. Both have advantages, but environmentalists and anti-biotech activists may load the dice in favor of gray. (Added April 5th 2002)

Robots in the bloodstream: the promise of nanomedicine By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
In just a few decades physicians could be sending tiny machines into our bodies to diagnose and cure disease. These nanodevices will be able to repair tissues, clean blood vessels and airways, transform our physiological capabilities, and even potentially counteract the aging process. (Added February 26th 2002)

Beating Moore's 2nd Law: Advances in Nanoengineering and New Approaches to Computing at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the AAAS By Lucas Hendrich and KurzweilAI.net
At the 2002 AAAS Nanotechnology Seminar, leading nanotechnologists presented the building blocks that may overturn current manufacturing processes on a collision course with Moore's Law. (Added February 21st 2002)

Nanotechnology: Six Lessons from Sept. 11 By K. Eric Drexler
The Sept. 11 attacks confirmed the ongoing terrorist threat and the importance of proactive development of methods to prevent nanotech abuse, K. Eric Drexler, Chairman of the Foresight Institute said in a statement sent to institute members. The "nanotechnology boom" is beginning, he said, urging members to use their brains and their wallets to "ensure that the field of nanotechnology never has its own Sept. 11." (Added December 13th 2001)

What I want to be when I grow up, is a cloud By J. Storrs Hall
Uploading doesn't necessarily mean consciousness on a chip. What if you could be anything: a lion or an antelope, a frog or a fly, a tree, a pool, the coat of paint on a ceiling? Nanotechnology may pave the way. (Added July 6th 2001)

Utility Fog: The Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of By J. Storrs Hall
Nanotech pioneer J. Storrs Hall's original concept, the Utility Fog, consists of a swarm of nanobots ("Foglets") that can take the shape of virtually anything, and change shape on the fly. Here he discusses the technical details and feasibility of this nanoconcept. (Added July 5th 2001)

Texas thinks small, plans Nanotech Corridor By Amara D. Angelica
Texas wants to be the nanotech equivalent of Silicon Valley. It has a good start north of Dallas: big bucks, top talent, leading university, and proximity to nanotech pioneering company Zyvex and the Telecom Corridor. But other centers around the country are also in the race to lead the nano world. (Added June 11th 2001)

How Nanotechnology Will Work By Kevin Bonsor
How will nanotechnology change the way goods are manufactured? Learn how nanomachines will manufacture products, and what impact nanotechnology will have on various industries in the coming decades. (Added June 11th 2001)

Say Ah By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Nanorobots the size of bacteria might one day roam people's bodies, rooting out disease organisms and repairing damaged tissue. (Added May 23rd 2001)

Nanotechnology: What Will It Mean? By Ralph C. Merkle
Ralph C. Merkle weighs in on the debate about the future of nanotechnology, considering its possible uses and abuses. (Added April 27th 2001)

There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom By Richard Feynman
This visionary talk that Richard Feynman gave on December 29th, 1959, at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology helped give birth to the now exploding field of nanotechnology. (Added April 17th 2001)

It's a Small, Small, Small, Small World By Ralph C. Merkle
This introduction to nanotechnology by one of its pioneers is an extended version of the article published in the Feb/Mar 1997 issue of MIT Technology Review. It provides greater technical detail. (Added April 5th 2001)

The Gray Goo Problem By Robert A. Freitas Jr.
In Eric Drexler's classic "grey goo" scenario, out-of-control nanotech replicators wipe out all life on Earth. This paper by Robert A. Freitas Jr. was the first quantitative technical analysis of this catastrophic scenario, also offering possible solutions. It was written in part as an answer to Bill Joy's recent concerns. (Added March 20th 2001)

Bioconvergence: Progenitor of the Nanotechnology Age By Charles Ostman
Advances in genetic engineering, advanced computational processes, nanobiology, and biological metaphors in computing are leading to a "bioconvergence" that will reshape the economies of the world and perhaps even the very definition of life itself. (Added March 8th 2001)