NN: Please describe the difference between molecular manufacturing and other kinds of nanotechnology.

The basic difference is that molecular manufacturing aims to achieve direct programmable control of reactions between individual molecules. Other kinds of nanotechnology produce small and useful objects, but they do it with equipment that is very limited in its ability to inject information to the nanoscale. Most nanotech products are small, simple, or both. Molecular manufacturing is an approach that connects information technology directly to the nanoscale.
—Mike Treder Executive Director of CRN

NN: Which kind of nanotechnology has the most significant near-term and long-term concerns, and what are the concerns?

There are two basic concerns associated with today's nanoscale technologies. One is that any powerful technology can have undesirable societal effects. The other concern associated with nanoscale technologies is that some of those technologies produce nanoparticles, and some kinds of nanoparticles are unknown and possibly hazardous classes of chemicals. Industry and regulators should not assume that nanoparticles are safe, and the public and special interest groups should not assume that nanoparticles are dangerous. Ordinary smoke and dirt have been full of nanoparticles for billions of years. But even when they're made of familiar materials, nanoparticles can have new properties that mean they should be treated like any other unfamiliar chemical.
—Chris Phoenix Director of Research CRN

NN: How is Greenpeace helping to prepare for societal, environmental, and technological aspects of nanotechnology?

It seems to me that these impacts are not a given but shaped by decisions to be taken from now and the many points in the future where those impacts occur. It is important to recognize (and this is what I'm attempting to do) that technology - including nanotechnology applications - is not a black box out of which it emerges as some kind of God-given certainty. Instead it is a process of choices informed by funders' interests, various sectoral market conditions, governmental policy and regulation etc. and thus is a result of choices which we are making consciously or not. By raising the issues and get recognition of this I hope that it will in turn lead to decisions that are more in tune with environmental and social goals.
—Dr. Douglas Parr Chief Scientist, Greenpeace UK.

NN: How is the Foresight Institute helping to prepare for societal, environmental, and technological aspects of molecular manufacturing?

For 18 years, Foresight has provided information on these topics in the form of books, white papers, articles, essays, our Web site, conferences, and testimony before Congress and interviews with the media. We will continue to do this. In addition, over the last several months we have been overhauling the organization and updating our mission and focus. Foresight now sees its mission as ensuring the beneficial implementation of nanotechnology. The core of this effort is The Foresight Nanotechnology Challenges, which are the critical challenges facing humanity that can be addressed by nanotechnology. We have talked about this work in progress in a few venues, and will be rolling this out to the public later in the year. This new focus puts molecular manufacturing in a broader context, which is application-oriented. Much of our efforts will be focused on encouraging and catalyzing research and development that addresses the Foresight Nanotechnology Challenges. In the long run, molecular manufacturing will play a crucial role in addressing many of these challenges. We are also beginning a roadmapping initiative to chart the possible technical pathways to more complex and powerful forms of nanotechnology, including molecular manufacturing. Such a roadmap can be used to help formulate a research and commercialization agenda that will get us there.
—Scott Mize President, the Foresight Institute.