Naslov
Nanoutopia or nanodystopia

Autori
Kurajica, Stanislav

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, ostalo

Izvornik
XI. susret mladih kemijskih inženjera : Knjiga sažetaka / Matijašić, Gordana - Zagreb : Hrvatsko društvo kemijskih inženjera i tehnologa (HDKI), 2016, 20-20

Skup
Susret mladih kemijskih inženjera (11 ; 2016)

Mjesto i datum
Zagreb, Hrvatska, 18.02.2016. - 19.02.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Plenarno

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
nanotechnology

Sažetak
Ever since first invention was made a mankind is divided into two groups with quite different way of seeing impacts of technology. Optimists, thrilled with new possibilities in improving their life, perceive technology as a way to achieve utopia, imaginary place, society or state named after Sir T. Moore 16th century book ; and pessimists seeing more harm than good in novelty having far more vivid imagination, as proven by numerous dystopian (utopia antonym) novels and motion pictures, such as Mad Max or Hunger games to mention just most recent ones. Things with nanotechnology are no different ; it also has its share of optimists and pessimists. By one of many definitions nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. So where to nanotechnology lead us, to utopia or to dystopia? There are many potential advantages of nanotechnolgy including: Innovative diagnostics and disease treatments, painless medical procedures, retardation of aging process, improvements in manufacturing or even change of manufacturing paradigm, advanced materials, improved electronic devices, particularly computers, sensors and robots (nanobots), energy savings, renewable energy sources, pollution cleanup and prevention, etc. According to optimists such as Nobel laureate in chemistry R. Smalley, nanotechnology will revolutionize the way we live, work and communicate. On the other hand concerns include: potential dangers to human health and the environment, unethical humans engineering, loss of products values, loss of jobs, economic disruption, broadening the gap between rich and poor, developed and underdeveloped, new weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, etc. Of course, there is ultimate nano nightmare, “gray goo”, end-of-the-world scenario involving self- replicating nanobots (see M. Crichton novel Prey) and singularity issue, a hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence will have progressed to the point of greater than human intelligence (see R. Kurzweil book The Singularity is near). So again, are we heading to utopia or dystopia? Well, beauty is in the eye of beholder, the attitude towards new technologies or even all novelty is a measure of a risk aversion ; optimists are centered on benefits while pessimists overestimate threats. Great damages or deliberate misuse are not impossible, especially if there are no regulations. The great visionaries such as S. Hawking, E, Musk and B. Gates shared with general public their concerns on artificial intelligence supremacy. On the other side technology has generally greatly improved our lives and if we ware to cautious we'd still be living in the Stone Age. Without aligning to any extreme sides, the author believes that nanotechnology has already changed our lives for the better and it will continue to do so in the future. And if AI prevails, well it is not the end of the World, just a human race. 01110010 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100?

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

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Temeljne tehničke znanosti

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