CRN at 5 years

The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) at five years.

An overview of their accomplishments, disappointments, and plans for the future.

“We chose to go back and review what we believed and what we said when we started CRN, and to ponder and report on what we have learned since then.”

Well worth your time reading. In fact, please read this update on CRN and it’s mission.

The most telling paragraph:

It’s interesting to note that while CRN’s time frame for the expected development of molecular manufacturing has shifted back by approximately five years, the mainstream scientific community’s position has been moving forward, from a point of ‘never’, to ‘maybe by the end of the century’, to ‘not until at least 2050’, and now to ‘perhaps around 2030 or so’. These projections might not yet match up exactly with CRN’s, but the gap is steadily shrinking.

If I have said it once I have said it a thousand times:

No informed person doubts that developments at the nanoscale will be significant. We debate the time frame, the magnitude and the possibilities, but not the likelihood for large-scale societal change. The least-speculative views suggest that we're in for changes of an order that justifies--if not demands--our undivided and immediate attention.

Will we be ready?

http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2008/02/crn-at-five-yea.html

One of the best places to stay informed about preparing for advanced nanotechnologies is at The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (crnano.org).