The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology wants to help create a world in which advanced nanotechnology — molecular manufacturing — is widely used for beneficial purposes, and in which the risks are responsibly managed.

“The ability to manufacture highly advanced nanotech products at an exponentially accelerating pace will have profound and perilous implications for all of society, and our goal is to lay a foundation for handling them wisely,” say CRN directors Mike Treder and Chris Phoenix.

Members of the CRN Task Force have written a series of essays describing their greatest concerns about the potential impacts of molecular manufacturing that range from discussion of economic issues and security issues, to the implications of human enhancement and artificial intelligence. They will be published in the March 2006 issue of Nanotechnology Perceptions.

“Our biggest concern is that molecular manufacturing will be a source of immense military power. A medium-sized or larger nation that was the sole possessor of the technology would be a superpower, with a strong likelihood of becoming the superpower if they were sufficiently ruthless. This implies geopolitical instability in the form of accelerating arms races and preemptive strikes. For several reasons, a nanofactory-based arms race looks less stable than the nuclear arms race was.”