Ethics of nanotechnology is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in nanotechnology and its impacts. According to Andrew Chen, ethical concerns about nanotechnologies should include the possibility of their military applications, the dangers posed by self-replicant nanomachines, and their use for surveillance monitoring and tracking. Risks to environment to public health are treated in a report from the Dutch

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment ( nl, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu or simply RIVM) is a Dutch research institute that is an independent agency of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. RIVM perfo ...

E.A.J. Bleeker, S. Evertz, R.E. Geertsma, W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg, J. Westra, S.W.P. Wijnhoven, Assessing health & environmental risks of nanoparticles. Current state of affairs in policy, science and areas of application, RIVM Report 2014-0157.
/ref> as well as is a report of the European Environment Agency.Chapter 22, Nanotechnology: early lessons from early warnings, in Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation, EEA report 1, 2013.
/ref> Academic works on ethics of nanotechnology can be found in the journal

Nanoethics Ethics of nanotechnology is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in nanotechnology and its impacts. According to Andrew Chen, ethical concerns about nanotechnologies should include the possibility of their military applications, ...

Guidelines

According to the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics possible guidelines for an Ethics of nanotechnology could include: *Nanomachines should only be specialized, not for general purpose *Nanomachines should not be self replicating *Nanomachines should not be made to use an abundant natural compound as fuel *Nanomachines should be tagged so that they can be tracked

Concerns

Ethical concern about nanotechnology include the opposition to their use to fabricate

Lethal autonomous weapon Lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are a type of autonomous military system that can independently search for and engage targets based on programmed constraints and descriptions. LAWs are also known as lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), auto ...

, and the fear that they may self replicate ad infinitum in a so-called gray goo scenario, first imagined by

K. Eric Drexler Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for studies of the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was revised and ...

. For the EEA the challenge posed by nano-materials are due to their properties of being novel, biopersistent, readily dispersed, and

bioaccumulative Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost or eliminated ...

; by analogy, thousands cases of

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

were caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust. See

nanotoxicology Nanotoxicology is the study of the toxicity of nanomaterials. Because of quantum size effects and large surface area to volume ratio, nanomaterials have unique properties compared with their larger counterparts that affect their toxicity. Of th ...

. Nanotechnology belongs to the class of

emerging technology Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include older technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies ar ...

known as GRIN: geno-, robo-, info- nano-technologies. Another common acronym is NBIC (Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Cognitive Science). These technologies are hopedRoco, M.C., and Bainbridge, W.S. (eds) (2002) Converging technologies for improving human performance, NSF-DOC Report, Kluwer, 2003. - or feared,G. Tintino, "From Darwinian to technological evolution: Forgetting the human lottery", Cuad. Bioética, vol. XXV, no. 387–395, 2014. depending on the viewpoint, to be leading to improving human bodies and functionalities, see

transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. Transhuma ...

* European Environment Agency, 2013, Late lessons from early warning II Chapter 22 - Nanotechnology - early lessons from early warnings. See also Steffen et al., 2008. * Jaco Westra (editor), 2014, Assessing health and environmental risks of nanoparticles. An overview, RIVM Rapport. * Rene von Schomberg (2011), Introduction: Towards Responsible Research and Innovation in the Information and Communication Technologies and Security Technologies Fields. * R. Feynman, Cargo Cult Science, Commencement Speech at Caltech 1974. (also available in the book:

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! ''"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character'' is an edited collection of reminiscences by the Nobel Prize–winning physicist Richard Feynman. The book, released in 1985, covers a variety of instances in Feynman's l ...

). * European Commission, 2009, Commission recommendation on A code of conduct for responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research & Council conclusions on Responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research. * C. Marris, Final Report of the PABE research project, 2001. * E.A.J. Bleeker, S. Evertz, R.E. Geertsma, W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg, J. Westra, S.W.P. Wijnhoven, Assessing health & environmental risks of nanoparticles Current state of affairs in policy, science and areas of application, RIVM Report. * Roger Strand, 2011, Nano Ethics, In: Nanotechnology in the Agri‐Food Sector: Implications for the Future. * R. Feynman,

There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics" was a lecture given by physicist Richard Feynman at the annual American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959. Feynman considered the possibi ...

lecture given at the annual American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959. * Job Timmermans; Zhao Yinghuan; and Jeroen van den Hoven, 2011. Ethics and nanopharmacy: Value sensitive design of new drugs. ''Nanoethics'' 5(3): 269-283. * Steven Umbrello and Seth D. Baum, 2018. Evaluating future nanotechnology: The net societal impacts of atomically precise manufacturing. Futures 100(June): 63-73. *

, 2013. Radical abundance: How a revolution in nanotechnology will change civilization. Public Affairs: New York.

References

{{reflist, 32em Emerging technologies

Guidelines

Concerns

Further reading

See also

References