NBIC Converging Technologies

One source of insights about human-computer convergence is the series of book-length reports concerning Converging Technologies that grew out of NSF's nanotechnology effort.  The first serious effort to envision the societal implications of nanotechnology was a conference organized at the request of the Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) of the US government’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), and held at the National Science Foundation on September 28-29, 2000.  The report, Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, asserted:

"A revolution is occurring in science and technology, based on the recently developed ability to measure, manipulate and organize matter on the nanoscale — 1 to 100 billionths of a meter. At the nanoscale, physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and engineering converge toward the same principles and tools. As a result, progress in nanoscience will have very far-reaching impact."

In response, a second major gathering was held December 3-4, 2001.  Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce, this conference examined the progress that could be achieved by combining four "NBIC" fields: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information technology, and Cognitive science. Nearly a hundred contributors concluded that this technological convergence could vastly increase the scope and effectiveness of human activity, thereby improving human performance and well-being.  The first paragraph of the report, Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance, proclaimed:

"We stand at the threshold of a new renaissance in science and technology, based on a comprehensive understanding of the structure and behavior of matter from the nanoscale up to the most complex system yet discovered, the human brain.  Unification of science based on unity in nature and its holistic investigation will lead to technological convergence and a more efficient societal structure for reaching human goals.  In the early decades of the twenty-first century, concentrated effort can bring together nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science.  With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, the result can be a tremendous improvement in human abilities, new industries and products, societal outcomes, and quality of life."

Subsequently, three conferences were held (without NSF support) to explore the further implications of scientific and technological coinvergence, each resulting in a book-length report.  Five years after the first conference on the societal implications of nanotechnology, NSF organized a second workshop on the topic, leading to a two-volume report that emphasized the importance of convergence.  Especially relevant here is the convergence between information technology and cognitive science, and many of the essays contributed to all of the reports cover topics related to the white paper we are writing, including essays on services science and other cutting edge developments relevant to human-centered computing.

Reports on Societal Implications of Nanotechnology

Roco, Mihail C., and William Sims Bainbridge (eds.).  2001. Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.  This is the book-length report of the first major conference about the societal implications of nanotechnology, held at the National Science Foundation, September 28-29, 2000.  The report considers not only the intended benefits of the technology, but also the wider economic and political implications, including management of unintended and second-order consequences.  Among the application areas considered were those in the medical, environmental, space exploration, and national security areas. Nanotechnology has implications for a range of sciences, and for science education, as well as potentially influencing the wider culture.  Recognizing that research on the social, ethical and legal implications had hardly begun, contributors examined methodologies for social science research and public involvement in policy making.  The book contains recommendations, reports of working groups, and individual scientific or policy-oriented essays.

Roco, Mihail C., and William Sims Bainbridge (eds.).  2006. Nanotechnology: Societal Implications – Maximizing Benefit for Humanity. Berlin: Springer.  An official report of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) subcommittee, this book communicates the observations and recommendations of participants in a major conference held December 3-5, 2003, at the National Science Foundation.  In addition to an overview and introductory remarks by policy leaders, the book reports the conclusions of ten thematic task forces: (1) Productivity and Equity; (2) Future Economic Scenarios; (3) The Quality of Life; (4) Future Social Scenarios; (5) Converging Technologies; (6) National Security and Space Exploration; (7) Ethics, Governance, Risk, and Uncertainty; (8) Public Policy, Legal, and International Aspects; (9) Interaction with the Public, and (10) Education and Human Resource Development.

Roco, Mihail C., and William Sims Bainbridge (eds.).  2006. Nanotechnology: Societal Implications – Individual Perspectives. Berlin: Springer.  Although not an official NSET report, this is the second volume in a pair that resulted from NSF's December 3-5, 2003 conference on the societal implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology.  It collects 48 chapters written by the scientists, engineers, and policy leaders in seven broad areas: (1) Economic Impacts and Commercialization of Nanotechnology, (2) Social Scenarios, (3) Converging Technologies, (4) Ethics and Law, (5) Governance, (6) Public Perceptions, and (7) Education.  The section on converging technologies contains seven essays on implications for the quality of life, technology and conceptualization of the self, management and legal issues of innovation, the use of cross-discipline analogies to promote convergence, benefits and hazards for environmental protection, and the immediate impact of convergence on scientific and engineering disciplines themselves.

Converging Technologies Conference Volumes

Roco, Mihail C., and William Sims Bainbridge (eds.).  2003. Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.  This is the public version of the original government report based on a conference co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Department of Commerce, held December 3-4, 2001.  A natural extension of work on the societal implications of nanotechnology, this book shows that the unification of science has become possible through the use of transforming tools, based on the unity of nature at the nanoscale. Fundamental to this approach are the concept of reality as closely coupled complex, hierarchical systems, and the goal to improve human performance.  This reports covers five major application areas: (1) Expand human cognition and communication, (2) Improve human health and physical capabilities, (3) Enhance group and societal outcomes, (4) Strengthen national security and competitiveness, and (5) Unify science and education. In addition to reports of task forces in these five areas, the book contains many scientic essays by participants, both well-grounded statements of near-term opportunities and more visionary projects for the more distant future.

Mihail C. Roco and Carlo D. Monemagno (eds.), The Coevolution of Human Potential and Converging Technologies. 2004.  New York: New York Academy of Sciences (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, volume 1013).  This book developed out of NBIC Convergence 2003, the second Converging Technologies conference, held February 5-7, 2003, at the University of California, Los Angeles.  The seventeen chapters are contributions from individual authors. Three chapters are overviews of the field, and the others are research contributions at the intersections of two or more fields, or analyses of ethical, legal and social implications of convergence.  Most of the authors participated in the first NBIC conference and book, so this volume is very much an addendum to the first.  It ends with an appendix describing convergence research projects funded by the National Science Foundation.

William Sims Bainbridge and Mihail C. Roco (eds.). 2006. Managing Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno Innovations: Converging Technologies in Society. Berlin: Springer.  This book grew out of NBIC Convergence 2004, the third Converging Technologies conference held February 25-27, 2004 in New York City.  The nineteen chapters and three appendices build on the earlier work and begin to expand the community of scientists and scholars involved in the movement.

William Sims Bainbridge and Mihail C. Roco (eds.). 2006. Progress in Convergence: Technologies for Human Wellbeing. 

Links:

Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Converging Technologies

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