Wendy Sherman: “I think the bill does a good job of dealing with the societal impacts. This amendment would make it better. I just…”

“I think the bill does a good job of dealing with the societal impacts. This amendment would make it better. I just returned from spending 2 days at the conference of the Foresight Institute in Palo Alto devoted exclusively to looking at the societal impacts of nanotechnology. There I had extensive discussions with Eric Drexler who coined the term ``nanotechnology,'' and got to meet the people from the Singularity Institute who are focusing on the implications of artificial intelligence. One good aspect of this bill that I should point out is Michael Creighton's book ``Prey'' is identified with nanotechnology; and, in fact, whether or not what he describes in that book is possible, the bill already identifies six standards to be included in the safety standards for the research done in this technology. Following even some of those standards would be enough to put ``Prey'' to rest. So the bill does have some excellent aspects to it. I think it could be enhanced by the amendment from the gentleman from Texas.”