A recent essay in Disarmament Diplomacy proposed an ‘Inner Space Treaty’ to ban all nanotechnology research because of fears it might lead to nanowarfare and “Grey Goo” scenarios.

André Gsponer concurs with the need for a treaty but argues that the timetable needs to be moved up. He argues that, with the ban on nuclear testing, the development of “fourth-generation nuclear weapons” is dependent upon MEMS and nanotech research, so a treaty banning nanotechnology research is needed now to stop both dangers.