"We live in a technologically intensive society where the rate of technological advancement is accelerating at a pace many find troubling. In the past thirty years we have experienced more dramatic changes brought about by technology than ever before in history. Given some in-depth insights into advanced technology, research organizations (both public and private) predict there are wondrous new developments ahead that will shape our lives. These scientific and technological breakthroughs have far-reaching political, economic and social implications. These implications are not limited in scope to the country or jurisdiction where the development takes place but throughout the world."
~Kevin G. Coleman, Ph.D., Senior Fellow with the Technolytics Institute
~Kevin G. Coleman, Ph.D., Senior Fellow with the Technolytics Institute
Commenting on how society can cope with the massive changes that will result from our understanding of the nanoscale, Dr. Robert D. Atkinson (1) said: "We should not use the precautionary principle as our guide, nor should we just ignore the potential problems. We should go forward with research on nano while at the same time go forward with research into the potential problems from nano and the solutions to them."
(1) Vice President and Director of the Technology and New Economy Project, Progressive Policy Institute (link). Author, "The Past and Future of America's Economy: Long Waves of Innovation that Power Cycles of Growth"
"Lurking just beyond the horizon, there is a globe-spanning, international business-changing, society-altering tsunami - from which we're catching the first waves, now. Companies, governments, and institutions are already being forced to consider a blinding rate of technological change; many finding themselves woefully unprepared. The rate at which the waves hit will likely increase, as technology advances on a double-exponential curve. Those that don't take the first preparatory steps now for massive changes soon better find someone who can, before they find themselves taking those first steps down the path towards the "dustbin of history."
~Rocky Rawstern, Editor, Nanotechnology Now (nanotech-now.com). Sept. 2003
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