Evaluating Future Nanotechnology: The Net Societal Impacts of Atomically Precise Manufacturing

Post Date April 02, 2019
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View the paper “Evaluating Future Nanotechnology: The Net Societal Impacts of Atomically Precise Manufacturing”

Atomically precise manufacturing (APM) is the assembly of materials with atomic precision. APM does not currently exist, and may not be feasible, but if it is feasible, then the societal impacts could be dramatic. This paper assesses the net societal impacts of APM across the full range of important APM sectors: general material wealth, environmental issues, military affairs, surveillance, artificial intelligence, and space travel. Positive effects were found for material wealth, the …

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December Newsletter: A Turning Point For GCRI

Post Date December 13, 2018
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Dear friends,

We believe that GCRI may now be at a turning point. Having established ourselves as leaders in the field of global catastrophic risk, we now seek to scale up the organization so that we can do correspondingly more to address global catastrophic risk. To that end, we have published detailed records of our accomplishments, plans for future work, and financial needs. An overview of this information is contained in our new blog post, Summary of GCRI’s 2018-2019 Accomplishments, Plans, and Fundraising.

To begin scaling up, we …

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November Newsletter: Organization Updates

Post Date November 08, 2018
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Dear friends,

We are currently in the process of implementing some major organization updates. These are making the organization more in line with our ongoing work and future plans.

First, we’ve published new pages for the seven topics that our work focuses on:

Aftermath of Global Catastrophe
Artificial Intelligence
Cross-Risk Evaluation & Prioritization
Nanotechnology
Nuclear War
Risk & Decision Analysis
Solutions & Strategy

Second, we’ve overhauled our affiliates, removing Associates and Junior Associates and creating a new Senior Advisory Council. We are delighted to welcome Gary Ackerman, John Garrick, and Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh as GCRI’s …

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May Newsletter: Molecular Nanotechnology

Post Date May 22, 2018
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Dear friends,

It has been a productive month for GCRI, with new papers by several of our affiliates. Here, I would like to highlight one by Steven Umbrello and myself, on the topic of molecular nanotechnology, also known as atomically precise manufacturing (APM).

At present, APM exists only in a crude form, such as the work recognized by the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. However, it may be able to revolutionize manufacturing, making it inexpensive and easy to produce a wide range of goods, resulting in what …

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Eric Talbot Jensen To Deliver Online Lecture On Law For Emerging Weapons Technologies 19 June

Post Date June 03, 2013
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Category emerging technologies, law & policy, online lectures

This is the pre-event announcement for an online lecture by Eric Talbot Jensen, Associate Professor of Law at Brigham Young University.

Here is the full talk info:

The Future of the Law of Armed Conflict: Ostriches, Butterflies, and Nanobots
Based on a paper of the same title.
Wednesday 19 June, 18:00 GMT (11:00 Los Angeles, 12:00 Utah, 14:00 New York, 19:00 London).
To be held online via Skype. RSVP required by email to Seth Baum (seth [at] gcrinstitute.org). Space is limited.

Abstract: The law has consistently lagged behind technological …

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GCRI’s First Publication, On Emerging Technologies And International Law, By Grant Wilson

Post Date November 27, 2012
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Category emerging technologies, law & policy, publications

As part of its research, GCRI is working on several research papers for peer-reviewed publication. The first of these papers has now been accepted, and so we are adding a publications page to our website. We will be adding more publications to this page as they become available.

The first paper, by Grant Wilson, is titled “Minimizing global catastrophic and existential risks from emerging technologies through international law“. The paper has been accepted at Virginia Environmental Law Journal and can be downloaded from the Social Science …

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