AMARA D. ANGELICA

Concerns about the possible negative consequences of nanotech may stifle vital nanotech research that could otherwise result in medical and other important breakthroughs. Expert witnesses at a congressional hearing recommended wider public debate, greater resources to develop defensive technology, and funding of societal, ethical, and environmental impact studies along with technology forecasting and basic science studies.
 
The convergence of information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology could result in self-replicating, nanoscale robots with potentially destructive consequences, according to computer-scientist Bill Joy, writing in Wired magazine, and others. These concerns led the U.S. House Committee on Science of the U.S. House of Representatives to hold a hearing on April 9, 2003 to "examine the societal implications of nanotechnology and H.R. 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2002."
 
The hearing was also motivated by Michael Crichton's science-fiction novel Prey, which "brought Bill Joy's concerns to a wider public and reinvigorated the debate over the possible negative consequences of future developments in information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology", stated the hearing's charter. Committee Chairman Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) kicked off the hearing by warning that the debate about nanotechnology itself "could turn into 'gray goo'."