The world of K. Eric Drexler is the smallest and the largest at the same time. He is obsessed with nanotechnology – the making of robots on a molecular scale – but is known across five continents for his ability to transcend the miniscule and make astonishingly rigorous predictions about the future of science. He dreams of space colonies and magical cures for cancer and with his dreams he advises companies and research firms.
Some accuse him of exaggerating his views, others simply ignore his theories. But most of the brains involved in building the future attend his lectures and take good notes. The most modern, daring, young and provocative figures of science share the ideas of this 21st century guru.
–Could you explain in a few words what nanotechnology is?
-It’s not difficult: nanotechnology is the increasingly developed ability to manufacture materials and products with molecular precision. Each atom is specifically located, in a predesigned position.
–Sounds good. But, really in what state is science in its mastery of such skill?
-Fortunately this field is in constant development. And the reason is very simple: almost every field of science – from space exploration to biomolecular design – can benefit from nanotechnology. And the economic benefits could be immediate.
–With this incentive, when do you think we will be able to have the first true nanotechnology products on the market?
-I hope it won’t be more than 10 years before I find easily accessible primary nanomachines.
–But can you explain what a nanomachine or a nanorobot is for?
-Well, for almost everything. I can tell you about some interesting applications in different areas of research and everyday life. For example, one of the most promising uses of nanotechnology in science is the creation of robots to definitively understand the workings of the brain and, perhaps, repair its defects. In industry, this technology will have a decisive effect. One of the fields that will benefit the most will be computing; computers are going to get smaller and cheaper, they will be everywhere. It is possible that in the future all products (from an assembly line to a mixer) will be made up of microcomputers. Finally, in our daily life we will also notice the presence of these micro-machines. For example, when we go to the doctor: it is difficult to imagine a disease that cannot be cured with complete control of matter at the molecular level. Medicine will become a matter of software.
–It is realistic to think that these nanorobots are the philosopher’s stone, that thanks to them we can cure cancer, clean the environment, alleviate world hunger …
-Yes. I think it is not unreasonable to think that, in the long term, nanotechnology is going to generate a revolution so powerful that it can alleviate hunger on the planet. After all, this technique uses molecular machines, which is what we’ve been doing to feed ourselves for decades. The green revolution of the 1960s, which multiplied food reserves, was based in part on nature’s molecular machinery and the search for new and better ways to exploit it. There is no doubt, either, that nanotechnology can clean up the environment. Pollution is the product of uncontrolled materials from industrial processes. With good control on a molecular scale, there would be no abandoned or surplus materials, everything could be effectively recycled. When it comes to curing cancer, nanotechnology can provide half the tools needed: physical tools. Then the genetic problem would have to be solved as a software issue, but that will also come. Yes, I believe that nanotechnology will cure cancer, prevent pollution, and alleviate world hunger.
–But without going so far, there are those who believe that the most promising application is the space race.
-The nanorobots will reduce the cost of scans. For the first time, the human being will be able to leave his reduced life circle. We will have our resources (including all the genetic wealth of the biosphere) installed in other places of the cosmos, unless an inopportune asteroid decides to impact Earth one day.
–When they hear you say things like that, there are few who think that you are exaggerating the virtues of your favorite technology.
-If you study a technological revolution, it makes no sense to underestimate its possibilities. Think about the advances that humanity has made in this 20th century. With technological progress accelerating, why should we have to think that the 21st century will be different? If something has to change, I think it will be for the better. To assume otherwise would be to fall into a radical and unsustainable ideology. Nowadays, the really conservative thing, oddly enough, is to think about a continued advancement of technology.
–And could not nanotechnology have some negative application?
-Yes. It could be used, for example, for military interests, as has happened with all previous technologies. Even the most innocent things, like canned food preservation techniques, were first used by armies.
–What will be the greatest challenge for scientists for nanotechnology to come to fruition.
– Possibly, to create the bases so that our products are not used in an abusive way. That is the endeavor of all nanotechnologists.
–And, for this, will not it be necessary to change something of the current scientific thought? Because there are those who believe that nanotechnology is going to revolutionize some conceptions assumed by Physics.
-It is not a big deal. Nanotechnology is nothing more than engineering. You don’t have to understand new fundamental laws to create a machine.
–Let’s talk about something more pragmatic and intriguing to everyone. Nanomachines, those tiny objects, what are they made of?
-I think the most promising material is carbon. In my designs I am using diamond. Other engineers use graphite. Both are two sources of carbon.
–Which countries are going to come out on top in the race for nanotechnology?
-The main investigations are being carried out in the United States. Japan lags behind and Europe, if it wanted to, could play a bigger role than the Japanese.
–Before working in this field, you did some pretty strange things …
-I became interested in the creation of spaceships for transportation and human settlement. I studied the possibilities of using asteroids as mining operations and looked for the ideal types of structures to make orbital stations. Someday all of this will come true. But nanotechnology will come sooner.
–It seems to me that you read a lot of science fiction.
-People who do not read science fiction have serious problems to imagine a future different from the present world.
–In other words, you are like a modern Jules Verne.
-No.
–So resounding?
-That’s so resounding.
Jorge Mayor
This interview was published in February 1997, in number 189 of VERY Interesting
