April 23, 2001: Nanotechnology - Mark Pesce & Richard C. Hoagland

Mark Pesce explores the revolutionary potential and dangers of nanotechnology while Richard C. Hoagland provides updates. Pesce discusses how nanobots could be programmed for specific military applications, from defusing explosives to creating them from inert materials. The technology could theoretically target specific populations through genome-specific weapons, though such applications raise profound ethical concerns. DARPA, the same agency that created the internet, now funds nanotechnology research at MIT, University of Michigan, and UCLA. Pesce emphasizes the positive applications, including eradicating disease, solving malnutrition, and converting garbage into edible food. The conversation examines the need for CDC-level containment facilities to prevent accidental environmental release of self-replicating nanites. Japanese researchers have created single-atom transistors, demonstrating their advancement in the field. NASA explores nanotechnology for space exploration applications. Pesce advocates for ethical guidelines governing this powerful technology that promises utopia and threatens extinction in equal measure.