I, Nanobot

Alan H. Goldstein writes a compelling plea to look at what we are experimenting with when we don't yet understand what we are doing or risking. The prose is a little off-putting but the article is worth perservering with. Nono biology is the new ICT.

Salon.com Technology | I, Nanobot: "Scientists are on the verge of breaking the carbon barrier -- creating artificial life and changing forever what it means to be human. And we're not ready." .............

"Quick. What's the difference between artificial life and synthetic biology? Don't know? Neither does anyone else, but that isn't stopping nanobiotechnology researchers from building them -- or it, or that, or whatever. To stay up to speed, there is always Artificial Life, the official journal of the International Society of Artificial Life. According to the editors, the humble mission of the journal "is [to investigate] the scientific, engineering, philosophical, and social issues involved in our rapidly increasing technological ability to synthesize life-like behaviors from scratch in computers, machines, molecules, and other alternative media." Whoa!"