Volume 1, Issue 4 
4th Quarter, 2006


Employing Geoethics to Avoid Negative Nanotechnology Scenarios in Developing Countries

Guido David Núñez-Mujica

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How do we avoid such environmental tragedies? How do we deal with rogue or deceitful states? A compelling ethical, economic and ecological framework must be built to ensure that an orderly, rational and safe distribution of nanotechnology and its products is attained worldwide. In the next section, several measures for facing these dilemmas and meeting requirements of safety and welfare will be proposed.

Suggestions for Nanotech Management
The Guidelines of the Foresight Institute offer an excellent approach to nanotechnology regulation, but they are not suited for dealing with the environmental dangers posed in this paper and for avoiding the economic collapse of developing economies. Still, the necessary measures for that goal can be contemplated Mujicawithin these guidelines. The measures that can be applied in the case of this scenario becoming reality must be a trade-off between avoiding a catastrophe in the developing world and safety, as many of these societies are not democratic or lack the ability for a proper management of nanotechnology (non-transparent governments, extended corruption that could sell nanotechnology to independent actors or use of it as a weapon in inner conflicts). Geoethical principles should be considered when designing these measures.

Some of the possible measures that could be taken are:

The forenamed regulatory actions are grounded in geoethics and therefore must be discussed with those who will be potentially affected to achieve truly agreed-upon effective measures to cope with the possible environmental disaster. It is a priority to check the true plausibility of this scenario and discuss it widely, and to incorporate this scenario into the mainstream discussed issues about risks of nanotechnology. We suggest that the measures developed for dealing with the proposed scenario, proposed ones or otherwise, be developed by experts in the field and incorporated into the main set of measures proposed to cope with the risk of nanotechnology, such as the Foresight Institute Guidelines, et al.

Footnotes
1. Drexler, K. Engines of Creation. The coming era of nanotechnology. Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York, 1986
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NunezGuido Núñez-Mujica is an undergraduate Student of Biology and Computational Physics at the Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. In 2001, Núñez-Mujica became the founder of the AREV, the first and only skeptical association of Venezuela, devoted to spreading critical thinking and rationalistic views. Núñez-Mujica is an active transhumanist and has become a speaker about Transhumanism in a course on Bioethics in the Faculty of Sciences at the Universidad de Los Andes. He is currently trying to create a transhumanist group in Mérida.

 

 

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