Nature Nanotechnology

• The specific details of these technologies are, of course, a world apart.
• As scholars of the future of innovation, we explore these parallels in a new commentary in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Nanotech excitement and fear

• In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nanotechnology transitioned from a radical and somewhat fringe idea to mainstream acceptance.
• The era saw public protests against nanotechnology and – disturbingly – even a bombing campaign by environmental extremists that targeted nanotechnology researchers.
• These included potential health and environmental impacts, social and ethical issues, regulation and governance, and a growing need for public and stakeholder collaboration.
• The result was a profoundly complex landscape around nanotechnology development that promised incredible advances yet was rife with uncertainty and the risk of losing public trust if things went wrong.

How nanotech got it right

• At the time, working on responsible nanotechnology development felt like playing whack-a-mole with the health, environment, social and governance challenges presented by the technology.
• This included multistakeholder partnerships, consensus standards, and initiatives spearheaded by global bodies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
• As a result, many of the technologies people rely on today are underpinned by advances in nanoscale science and engineering.
• In the early 2000s, the initiative brought together representatives from across the government to better understand the risks and benefits of nanotechnology.

Experts only at the table

• Yet despite similar aspirations around AI, these same levels of diversity and engagement are missing.
• The White House has prioritized consultations with AI company CEOs, and Senate hearings have drawn preferentially on technical experts.
• More importantly, they bring a diversity of expertise and perspectives to the table that is essential for the successful development of an advanced technology like AI.

The clock is ticking

• But this will happen only if society applies the lessons from past advanced technology transitions like the one driven by nanotechnology.
• The early days of an advanced technology transition set the trajectory for how it plays out over the coming decades.
• He was previously the co-chair of the Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications Working Group, and was Chief Science Advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

• OLOMOUC, Czech Republic, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The sun instead of electric furnaces and a cheap nanomaterial instead of gold.
• The composition of the nanomaterial resembles common, naturally occurring minerals, yet it can replace noble metals used so far.
• According to data from MarketWatch, the market for aniline compounds is approximately $12 billion per year, with a significant increase on the way.
• This was the right step, and we are already negotiating industrial applications of the technology with potential investors, especially in Germany," concluded Zboil.