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Brief summary
Panel presentation, Tuesday 23 January
What Next? New Technologies – Implications on Health, Environment and Democracy
Pat Mooney, Kathy Jo Wetter, Larry Lohmann, Vandana Shiva
Moderator: Niclas Hällström
A session exploring the possible implications on society and equality of the rapid development and commercialization of new, converging technologies at the nano-scale. The Foundation has followed the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology and closely related technologies for several years. Although little debated and discussed in the public debate, most observers agree that these new technologies will likely revolutionize most areas of our societies, with major implications on the economy, security, environment, our lifestyles and even our views of ourselves as humans. In Foundation seminars and publications possible implications on, in particular people in the south, marginalized groups and the environment have been explored. The work on new technologies follow directly from prior, similar engagement in areas related to plant genetic resources (see "Law of the seed" & "Parts of life") and biotechnology (see "Law of the Seed").
The Foundation has worked closely with, in particular ETC Group (earlier RAFI) on these issues, and co-organised the session with them.
Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science, Ecology and Tecnnology (RFSET), India, provided an initial reflection on technology, society and power, based on her two decades of work on seeds, biotechnology and ecology.
Kathy Jo Wetter, ETC Group, gave a general overview of the new technologies and explained the basics of nanotechnology and how it relates to other, converging sets of technologies.
Pat Mooney, ETC Group, outlined a number of scenarios (also highlighted in the What Next Report 2005-2035) including geo-engineering against climate change, the production of new weapons of mass destruction, new materials that will rapidly replace raw materials and thus have major impact on many poor economies, modifications and commercial enhancement of humans, and more.
Larry Lohmann, The Cornerhouse, UK, reflected on power, politics and technology, and concluded that technologies are developed under certain political conditions, and can in no way be seen as neutral. They reflect powerful and commercial interests and must be scrutinized and problematised with that in mind. There are no such thing as value-free, objective, and neutral technologies (further thoughts on this can also be found in Larry’s contribution to the publication ‘What Next: Volume I’ ‘Activists, Expertise, Commons’).
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