Policy

In both the United States and Europe, new developments in nanotechnology and biotechnology, as well as the information and cognitive sciences, could permeate and transform all levels of human society. These high-impact technologies will mandate expansive policy reform, based on society's values, to effectively manage their wide-ranging implications. The proper method of assimilation and distribution of new technologies will, no doubt, dominate policy discussions in the 21st century, as each nation decides how to most effectively reap the benefits of technological progress while managing the potentially harmful consequences.

United States

In the United States, a report, entitled Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance, which was published in 2002 under the auspices of the National Science Foundation (NSF), addressed human "enhancement" and the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information science, and cognitive science (NBIC), which is expected to enable such "enhancements." This report, which is actually a compilation of many different essays, takes a highly optimistic view of such augmentations, and it has been seen -- mistakenly -- by many, especially in Europe, as reflecting the official U.S. position on human "enhancement" and convergence.

Since this initial report, several additional U.S. reports have been published by the NSF, including Progress in Convergence: Technologies for Human Wellbeing in 2006, Managing Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno Innovations: Converging Technologies In Society in 2005, and The Coevolution of Human Potential and Converging Technologies in 2004. These reports serve to further expand on the possibilities of NBIC research, and to foreshadow the many societal changes that will result from specific technological advancements.

However, none of these NSF reports reflects the official U.S. policy approach to emerging technologies. A better barometer of what will likely be the official U.S. approach to policy formation on human "enhancement" and NBIC convergence can be garnered from the funding approach taken with research into the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of the Human Genome Project (which directed 3-5% of total genome research funding be directed toward ELSI research)1 and the specific and extensive language in the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which focuses on the societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology as a core tenet in the development of this nascent technology, as well as the advent of super-human intelligence via artificial intelligence (A.I.) and human neuro-enhancement. Specifically, the Act presents an extensive list of goals and initiatives -- including exploration of nanotechnology's ethical, legal, and social implications (NELSI), and public engagement -- to be conducted under the auspices of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).

Europe

The European perspective, which differs in significant ways from that set forth in the NSF documents, is captured in a set of reports, which include: Foresighting the New Technology Wave: Converging Technologies - Shaping the Future of European Societies (High Level Expert Group Final Report, September 2004); Foresighting the New Technology Wave: Transformational Effect of NBIC Technologies on the Economy (June 2004); Foresighting the New Technology Wave: Converging Technologies and the Natural, Social and Cultural World (July 2004); Foresighting the New Technology Wave: Quality of Life (June 2004); SIG-II Report on the Ethical, Legal and Societal Aspects of Converging Technologies (July 2004). These documents conceptualize and adopt "Converging Technologies for European Knowledge Society" (CTEKS), rather than the NSF's "NBIC," and they focus on an interdisciplinary approach to progress that is based on European values. This approach integrates numerous disciplines, especially the humanities and social sciences. By doing so, the aim is to create both a broad public discussion that goes beyond merely addressing the scientific and technical possibilities by incorporating ethics and shared community values, and transparency in governmental decision making with respect to policies governing emerging technologies.

Conclusion

New developments in the emerging technologies and increasing focus on the convergence of such technologies are generating ever-increasing levels of concern and excitement at home and abroad -- especially when such technologies are considered in terms of augmenting human capabilities. Only through open, inclusive, "upstream" dialogue about these technologies, their application, and the issues they may pose can untoward, and likely irreversible, consequences be avoided. While unforeseen changes and issues will undoubtedly arise, such public discourse and the value-based governance it subsequently gives rise to are the key tools for harnessing these coming and powerful technological advances for the benefit and flourishing of humanity.