The Impact of Nanotechnology The Impact of Nanotechnology on Developing Countrieson Developing Countries

Joachim SchummerDepartment of Philosophy, University of Darmstadt, Germany &

Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University, Australia

js@hyle.org

to be published in: F. Allhoff, P. Lin, J. Moor & J. Weckert (eds.), Nanoethics: Examining the Societal Impact of Nanotechnology, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2007.

1. Introduction1. Introduction

Nanotechnology has been promised to meet the needs of developing countries and to be an opportunity for their industrial development.

Ethical focus: Technology as a means to decrease or increase global inequity?

Definition of "Developing Countries" (DCs):countries with low human development index (HDI) according to United Nations Development Program (UNDP); combines economic, health, and educational factors.

OutlineOutline

1. Introduction

2. The diversity of nanotechnologies

3. A framework for analyzing possible impacts

4. Examples

a. Does nanotechnology meet the specific needs of the poor?(AIDS prevention, water treatment, energy supply)

b. How can nanotechnology impact the existing economies?(changing demands of material resources)

c. Is nanotechnology a new industrial opportunity for DCs?(changing intellectual property rights)

5. Conclusion

2. The diversity of nanotechnologies 2. The diversity of nanotechnologies

The term "nanotechnology" covers many diverse technologies, including

• scanning probe microscopy• nanoparticles• nanostructured materials• polymers and composites• ultra-thin coating• heterogeneous catalysis• supramolecular chemistry• molecular electronics• molecular modeling• lithography for IC & chip production• semiconductors & quantum dots• “quantum computing”

• MEMS• LCDs• small LEDs• solar cells and fuel cells• lasers • biochemical and chemical sensors• drug delivery• tissue engineering• molecular biotechnology incl. some

genetic engineering and neurophysiology

• ........

Each technology needs to be assessed separately!

3. A framework for possible impacts3. A framework for possible impacts

Consider the full life-cycle of each nanotechnology in local and global social contexts

R&D Planning R&D Activity Manufacturing Consumption

a) R&D PlanningRR&D &D Planning Planning R&D Activity Manufacturing Consumption

For DCs with small research budget, investment in expensive R&D instrumentation is particularly risky. Decisions can be misled, for instance, by

Unclear concepts: Investment in unspecific nanotechnology or in specific nanotechnologies?

Hype: Are these technologies really new or old, claimed by existing patent monopolies?

Unfounded promises: Does industrial development depend on technological know-how or on suitable local and global economical and political conditions (see the historical industrial revolution)?

b) R&D ActivityningR&D Planning RR&D Activity&D Activity Manufacturing Consumption

Little previous experience in related R&D and poorer regulations pose risks for both scientists and common people, for instance:

Risks to researchers: Handling of possibly toxic materials in laboratories, e.g. nanoparticles.

Guinea pigs: Differences in wages, regulation, and public attention are incentives for industrialized countries to make poor individuals in DCs the guinea pigs for their R&D, e.g. in clinical trials.

c) ManufacturingR&D Planning R&D Activity ManufacturingManufacturing Consumption

In the state of manufacturing, DCs can be manufacturers or consumers of products, or providers or buyers of materials, know-how, and waste processing. Each role can be beneficial but also harmful for a country, for instance:

Manufacturing carries the risks of environmental pollution, uncertain worker safety, and hazards .

Raw Materials Supplier can suffer from changing materials demands due to materials substitution technologies.

Waste processing, if short-sightedly performed at low regulation standards and poor recycling rates, consumes environmental resources and threatens public health.

d) ConsumptionR&D Planning R&D Activity Manufacturing ConsumptionConsumption

The consumption of technological products can also have negative impacts on a society, for instance, through

Trade deficit and dependance, if the product needs to be imported.

Increasing local inequality, if only an elite is able to benefit from the product ("nano-divide").

Intrusion of values, if an imported products supports certain life forms that are valued in the exporting society but foreign to the importing society.

There is no simple answerThere is no simple answer

R&D Planning R&D Activity Manufacturing Consumption

•STM•nanoparticles•nanostructured materials•polymers and composites•ultra-thin coating•heterogeneous catalysis•molecular electronics•IC lithography •semiconductors•MEMS•LCDs•small LEDs•solar cells and fuel cells•lasers •biochemical sensors•drug delivery•tissue engineering•molecular biotechnology.....

?

4.1 Does nanotechnology address 4.1 Does nanotechnology address the needs of the poor?the needs of the poor?

The example of AIDS prevention

Certain molecules (dendrimers) have been promised to be the nanotechnological remedy against the world's AIDS epidemic, because they might be used as vaginal microbicide.

Problems:

1. “The steady growth of the AIDS epidemic stems not from the deficiencies of available prevention strategies but rather from the world’s failure to use the highly effective tools at its disposal to slow the spread of HIV” (UNAIDS 2006 report)

2. Dendrimers cost several thousand USD per gram, will never be availabe to the poor.

3. Dendrimers compete with other vaginal microbicides, incl. soap and lime juice, which are cheap and widely available, but not nano.

4.2 How can nanotechnology impact 4.2 How can nanotechnology impact the existing economies of DCs?the existing economies of DCs?

The example of changing materials demands

Many nanotechnologies aim at substituting for expensive metals that need to be imported.

Most metals are mined in developing countries whose economies depend on mining exports.

Examples:- Catalysis research aims at substituting for platinum in petrol industry;- Ceramics research aims at substituting for special alloys.

New catalysts shall replace precious metal catalystsNew catalysts shall replace precious metal catalysts

78%

S. Africa

12%

Russia

Platinum: World market 2005 ca $6.2 billion

Source: USGS: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2005

Nanostructured ceramics are replacing tungstenNanostructured ceramics are replacing tungsten

Tungsten: world market 2005 ca $1.35 billion

90%

China

6%

Russia

Source: USGS: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2005

4.3 Is nanotechology a unique 4.3 Is nanotechology a unique industrial opportunity for DCs?industrial opportunity for DCs?

The example of changing intellectual property rights and practices

Basic engineering knowledge is moving from the public domain to the market (knowledge economy, monopolies), through 3 trends:

1. Liberalization of criteria for patent eligibility (e.g., DNA, software).

2. Changing intellectual property practices at Western universities.

3. TRIPs agreement (2000) obliges all WTO member countries, including the poorest, to respect IPRs.

Knowledge access is increasingly limited for poor countries at the periphery.

5. Conclusion5. Conclusion

The impact of nanotechnology on DCs is very complex, needs to be assessed in detail for each technology.

Optimistic promises usually ignore social contexts.

UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005), Article 15:

“Benefits resulting from any scientific research and its applications should be shared with society as a whole and within the international community, in particular with developing countries.”