Ethical issues

Caption: Setting up a sample in a magnetic resonance microscope © CEA

The prospect of manipulating matter on a molecular scale and interacting with the living world raises ethical concerns as well as great hopes. The convergence of nanotechnologies with biology and information technology (NBIC), suggests we may be able to take over from natural evolution as anticipated by transhumanism. This approach raises problems of a cultural and philosophical nature. Might the nanostructures we manufacture escape our control? Are we safe from "misuse" of these techniques, ranging from invasion of privacy to the production of new, more efficient weapons? These ethical issues must be taken into consideration by society as a whole.