“We’re dealing with a new age of technology”: On February 15 at 5:00 p.m., science journalist Nils Boeing will be a guest on the Nanostart program NanoWebTalk. The topic of his presentation is “Nanotechnology: risks and secondary (media) effects.” He explains in this interview.

Mr. Boeing, you are a journalist and physicist. You have had a  concentration on nanotechnology for a long time. On NanoWebTalk you talk about the “secondary media effects” of nanotechnology. What does that mean?

Boeing: By secondary media effects, I mean how the portrayal of nanotechnology has changed over the past 15 years. The media have mostly reflected the depiction provided to them by researchers and research policymakers. Looking back, this depiction was not always favorable.

The result is that nanotechnology today is viewed and presented very narrowly: for example scratch-resistant car paint – a sensation –, sunscreen with nanoparticles – mixed feelings –, or nanotubes that are supposed to be the new asbestos – threatening. These images can quickly take on a life of their own and obscure what makes nanotechnology so interesting: namely the improvement of materials and technical solutions on a nanoscale, which also enables us to conserve resources.

Is there one “nanotechnology,” or are there many different nanotechnologies?

Boeing: There is certainly not just “one” nanotechnology. We are not talking about a single, uniform technology that somehow deals with one subject known as “nano.” But the research scene has long given the impression that it is a coherent technology. Though it may not have been their intention, researchers have essentially perpetuated the controversial vision of Eric Drexler. He viewed nanotechnology as a uniform technology of “assemblers,” which refers to nanorobots.

Once we understand that we are dealing with a new age of technology, only then can we take greater advantage of opportunities – but also take risks seriously without calling into question the entire field of technology.

Regarding a differentiated viewpoint: Can we say that there are areas where nanotechnology can help us make decisive progress, and there are others where possible risks have not yet been adequately researched?

Boeing: Nanotechnology is not a self-starter. Despite the billions that have been invested worldwide over the last few years, it is still difficult to scale promising ideas from lab prototype to a market-ready application. This can be seen with nanoelectronics, where there is no shortage of good concepts. Nanotechnologies represent huge potential for resource efficiency, energy technology, and medicine.

There is still a lot of work to be done regarding possible toxicity of nanomaterials. With many substances, it is still too early to render an authoritative judgment. We have the benefit that up to now, not many “engineered nanoparticles” have been released into the environment yet. But we should not equate risk with environmental risk. If a few new, groundbreaking nanoapplications achieve success in the next 10 or 20 years, we must examine very closely what economic and social impacts they could have. Technologies, such as the Internet and now mobile computing, also change social interaction. With all advances, there are always some unpleasant surprises. Nanotechnology will be no exception.

Thank very much Mr. Boeing.

More information about the NanoWebTalk can be found on: www.nanowebtalk.de

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