Development Ethical and Societal Issues Satyen Baindur PhD

Stewardship in Nanotechnology Development:
Ethical and Societal Issues
SATYEN BAINDUR, PHD
Ottawa Policy Research Associates, Inc.
OPRA Report 2006-4-1 Issued April 2006
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As a more complex, convergent process, at the socio-econo-bio-info-cogno-nano
level, there is also the possibility that a fundamentally new life form could come into
existence in the future. This could happen through an incremental enhancement of
human capacities (for example, a progressive substitution of prostheses for diseased or
incapacitated organs, or organ regeneration, or a networking of biological instrumentation
with human organs, or an interfacing of human sensory organs with computers). Or it
could happen through an unforeseeable combination of the bio and nano components
spontaneously acquiring the attributes of locomotion, autonomy, adaptation, and autocatalyzed
self-replication. A version of the latter possibility has been present ever since
recombinant genetic technology came on the scene thirty years ago, but at least any new
life forms were then expected to still be DNA-based. In the years since such concerns
were first voiced, developments in the biotech field have included, among others:
cloning, genetically modified organisms, transgenic organisms and even the
possibility of chimeras, but of course, all of these were, or have been, DNA based.
Another possibility, leading logically from the combination of enhancement of
human capacities and the possibility of new life forms, is the prospect of eventual
prolongation of life, perhaps in perpetuity 11 . Since mortality is one of the more widely
accepted characteristics of human (and all other living) beings, this prospect, combined
with the issue of access to the interventions that might make it achievable, is likely to
raise some of the most profound ethical issues of all.
While it is certainly possible that the scope of nanotechnology in these matters
may turn out to be no greater than that of biotechnology, the possibility also exists for
qualitatively new developments, and stakeholders should therefore maintain awareness,
foresight and analysis capacities with respect to developments in the field.
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11 This does not appear imminent at the present time, but is logical to raise in a forward-looking issues
discussion. The possibility is not just that human beings might simply live longer in their own bodies, but
it could also take the form of continual organ regeneration, or humans interfacing with electronic
equipment to form new entities. It could also take the form of downloading one’s experiences into software
life forms, so that life continues in software etc.
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