From: Pilot Pirx (pilotpirx2147@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Sep 28 2005 - 22:41:50 MDT
Government, irrespective of party, will demand a role in regulation of research and development of anything they deem potentially harmful to humans and the environment. The Foresight Nanotech Institute has come up with a suggested set of guidelines "to provide a basis for informed policy decisions by citizens and governments, and specific guidelines for the responsible development of nanotechnology-based molecular manufacturing by practitioners."
( http://www.foresight.org/guidelines/current.html#GuideTOC )
Excerpt:
Industry self-regulation is practiced proactively, and tailored to the specific risk profile of the nanotechnology under development. For example, carbon nanotubes should be developed with specialized industrial hygiene controls for particle inhalation or absorption risk. Toxicology studies relating to nanomaterials should be advanced as rapidly as is feasible.
Self-replicating machines are distinguished from non-self-replicating manufacturing systems and end products.
When molecular manufacturing systems are designed or implemented, they use no self-replicating machines.
Any molecular manufacturing device designs specifically limit proliferation and provide traceability and audit trails.
Encrypted molecular manufacturing device instruction sets are utilized to discourage irresponsible proliferation and piracy.
Use of self-replicating systems is avoided except in approved and controlled circumstances.
Self-replicating machines (if any) have absolute requirements (e.g., for externally supplied information, interventions, environmental conditions, materials, components, or exotic energy sources) that are available only where deliberately provided to enable operation of the machine. Thus, self-replicating machines are designed to be incapable of replication in any natural environment.
Self-replicating machines (if any) are incapable of evolutionary change. For example, the information that specifies their construction is stored and copied in encoded form, and the encoding is such that any error in copying randomizes and thus destroys the decoded information.
pdugan <pdugan@vt.edu> wrote:
It would be interesting to conjecture the odds of the Bush administration
commisioning a government agency devoted to banning singularity tech.
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