Continued economic growth, human welfare, and national security
depend upon constant technological progress; and the chief area for
innovation in the coming years will be converging technologies, the
synergistic combination of the "NBIC" fields: nanotechnology,
biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based
in cognitive science.
The significance of convergence was initially recognized in the
first National Science Foundation conference on the societal
implications of nanotechnology in 2000, which reported that the
newly developed ability to measure, manipulate, and organize matter
on the nanoscale was revolutionizing science and technology.
This volume will mark a major step forward, for three reasons:
(1) Enough is understood about convergence now to permit serious
consideration of governance issues and the likely human
consequences. (2) Among the many convergence-related research
projects, several in diverse areas have begun to deliver real
results. (3) The network of NBIC researchers and analysts has
developed to the point of being a real scientific and engineering
community.
One cross-cutting theme will be the ethical, legal, and social
consequences of technological convergence. Another is the hunt for
areas of remarkable research opportunities and the transforming
tools required to take maximum advantage of them.
Convergence will bring new approaches to what are currently
diverse areas of research, such as converging technology platforms,
physical and mental performance, human-machine interfaces, human
cognition and communication, education and training, work
efficiency, and many others. On their own, each of the NBIC
technologiesoffers the potential for extraordinary advancement, but
combined their potential is enormous and may provide revolutionary
progress in human longevity, quality of life, learning, and
productivity.
"NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books
or as a journal. For information on institutional journal
subscriptions, please visit
""www.blackwellpublishing.com/nyas,""
ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences
directly to place your order (""www.nyas.org""). Members of the New
York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals
online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit
""www.nyas.org/membership"" for more information about becoming a
member."
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