Ethic

2008/07/29 - TAB proposes policy options for Converging Technologies

EthicSchool: The Office of Technology Assessment at the German Parliament (TAB) just released an English summary to a recent report on Converging Technologies, by Christopher Coenen. He is one of the key speakers during the EthicSchool on Ethics of Converging Technologies, 21-26 September 2008 at the Dormotel Vogelsberg in Alsfeld /Romrod, Germany. There are still some places available. Register quickly at www.ethicschool.eu!
read more [Nanoforum]

2008/07/16 - EthicSchool Summerschool on Ethics of Nanotechnology

School: 24 Aug 2008 - 29 Aug 2008, Enschede, Netherlands. Organized by ETHICSCHOOL project.
read more [Nanotechweb.org Events]

2008/07/15 - Terasem Movement Announced Fourth Annual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology

Terasem Movement, Inc. announced today its Fourth Annual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology will be held Sunday, July 20, 2008 to honor the 39th anniversary of the first human lunar landing...
read more [Azonano]

2008/07/08 - Dutch government releases Nano Action Plan

Ministry of Economic Affairs: The Netherlands is relatively the third investor in nanotechnology worldwide, as a percentage of GDP, after Israel and Singapore. In the Dutch goverment action plan, proposals are included for research and innovation; managing risks; ethical aspects, societal dialogue and communication; and legal aspects.
read more [Nanoforum]

2008/05/13 - EthicSchool offers researchers training in nanoethics

EthicSchool: The European Commission currently tries to stimulate responsible development of nanotechnology by recommending a Code of Conduct to EU member states. This Code is actually a form of "soft law", governing nanotechnology research. Evaluators of EU project proposals are asked to use this code in their selection process.
read more [Nanoforum]

2008/05/08 - Nanodot readers invited to create/edit nano-scenarios

We’ve received an invitation to participate in the Center for Nanotechnology in Society’s project to build and critique nanotechnology scenarios.

Current topics to edit in the wiki, or you can add your own:
* Barless Prisons
* Bionic Eyes
* Living with a Brain Chip
* Disease Detector
* Automated Sewer Surveillance
* Engineered Tissues

Here’s the text sent to us by the Center:

The Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU) invites you to help design the future of nanotechnology.

READ, REVISE, RANT: Some say that Nanotechnology will revolutionize life as we know it, but what should we really expect from the future of nanotechnology? CNS developed 6 plausible product descriptions- called scenes- to provide some structure to discussions about nanotechnology. These fictional scenes have been evaluated by nanoscale scientists and engineers for technical plausibility- it is up to you to weigh social, economic, ethical, environmental and political plausibility—and desirability!!

Through an interactive website, the NanoFutures experiment invites citizens, scientists and engineers, social scientists, policy makers, and others interested in nanotechnology to assess the potentials and perils of nano-enabled futures. On this site you can:

READ the scenes: What if ultra fast sequencing technology is used to analyze the DNA in harvested waste water? What if you could predict disease before the onset of symptoms? What if your intelligence was enhanced with a brain chip? What if, instead of prisons, convicted criminals were injected with disabling drugs that were activated if the prisoners misbehaved?

REVISE the scenes in a wiki: the scenes are predominately technical- what about social values, religious viewpoints, economic feasibility, and ethical desirability? Edit the scenes to create richer portraits of the implications of the technology.

You can also write your own scenario about nanotechnologies’ development!

RANT about and discuss the scenes: What are your thoughts on the implications of nanotechnology? Are there some technologies that should not be developed? Who should control nanotechnology?

Go to: http://cns.asu.edu/nanofutures

TAKE 30 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME NOW TO HELP CREATE THE NANOFUTURE!!