If this is to sci-fi for you? Well, I wonder what you think about this abstract of an -currently unpatented- existing nanotech device. A neuro sensory receptor. It has cochlea properties and it’s nano. It consists of a microphone, optical and visual components using fiber optics.
Who among us have not had at least one long, dark night where we wonder if there is really hope for humanity at all? To see the world we live and not sometimes despair? Things are bad, the problems are huge. The future, we sometimes suspect, will be unthinkable.
Now here it comes; if the device were to be implanted in our brain -located on the brain stem- where it would interact with the nervous system. Through this technology we could control the following elements in the body: swallowing, eyes, toes, knees, wrists, brow, lips, face, nose, thumb. Does this sound like horror to you or could you imagine it as a useful piece of technology for disabled people or animals? In any case, we are clearly seeing the emergence of science faction.
But despair is a trap and none of the problems we face are insurmountable. Nanotech is no doubt capable of revolutionizing everything in our world. However this technology poses a massive risk of a kind unimaginable. While the constructive powers of this technology are phenomenal, as with any technology, the destructive powers are maybe far greater.
Ok, in reality these wild ideas and inventions are -still- rather scarce. The near future nano applications are more likely to be novel light emitting materials for flatpanel television applications and intermediate steps alike. Novel ways to treat cancer and innovative ways to store date and produce or store energy. This is due to the industry and economy who demands useful and short term applications. In any way, technology like this would have to be controlled in a way unimaginable to today’s technological possibilities. The fundamental question is whether nanoscientists need a managing principle akin to the Hippocratic oath. Some sort of reinterpretation of the precautionary principle -the idea that any action whose outcomes are unknown or potentially negative should be avoided. The aforementioned principle has already been discussed in the field of biotechnology and genetics with a certain global communs sensus as a result. In my opinion this discussion, which is mainly about negotiating the ethical boundaries, laws rules and regulations should broaden up to the field of nanotechnology as well.
Scientist are doing it but artists can help us to imagine, understand, question and take advantage of nanotechnology in order to express our deepest feelings and thoughts concerning the reality and the impact of technology in particular. The current Zeitgeist is very interesting for scientist and artists. A renewed alliance is near. While scientists are shifting to a multidisciplinary approach, artists are shifting to a interdisciplinary approach. Out of this alliance new and unexpected things can emerge. But as Gandalf, the wizard in Lord of The Rings would say: ‘’With great power comes great responsibility!’’
Frederik De Wilde °1975, lives in Brussels (BE). Studied fine arts (MA), audio-visual arts (MA) & followed a pre-education in architecture, studied one year of philosophy and concluded his studies with a post-graduate degree in new media, arts & design at TRANSMEDIA Brussels (MA) where he was initiated in software programming. Frederik is currently collaborating with the University Hasselt researching material physics & biology. In 2008 he received a research grant by the VGC to explore the relationships between the arts, biotechnology and genetics.
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