Category Archives: Categories

Detailed sketch of a mechanical rabbit with intricate robotic limbs and wings in a dynamic pose.

The Rise of the Nanobots

Let’s start with a simple definition. Nanobots are nanoscale robots. Once, strictly confined to speculation and science fiction, the military and medical industry is making them a reality.

In the medical industry, specifically the area of nanomedicine, nanobots are being developed and used in human trials to cure a number of diseases, including cancer. For example, on May 15, 2015 Next Big Future reported, “Bachelet (i.e., Dr. Ido Bachelet, manager of Bar-Ilan University’s robot laboratory) has developed a method of producing innovative DNA molecules with characteristics that can be used to ‘program’ them to reach specific locations in the body and carry out pre-programmed operations there in response to stimulation from the body.” In this case, the pre-programming involves detecting cancer cells and delivering an existing cancer drug treatment directly to a cancerous cell, bypassing healthy cells. As of this writing, Dr. Bachelet and Pfizer announced “partnering” to perform human trials, using the DNA nanobots. However, there have been no reports on the human trials to date.

Other medical researchers are taking a similar approach, as reported in Science Translational Medicine, Renier J. Brentjens et. al., 20 Mar 2013. In essence, they remove some of the patient’s T-cells, which are cells produced by the patient’s thymus gland. T-cells work as part of the human immune system. After removing the T-cells, researchers alter them in the laboratory with a gene therapy to make them recognize a protein on the cancer cells. Then they inject the altered T-cells into the patient’s bloodstream. There the T-cells order the cancerous cell to return to their normal configuration. If the cell has mutated too far to return to its original configuration, it orders the cell to self-destruct. Their results, reported in 2013, have been astounding, causing the cancer of 14 out of 16 terminally ill patients to go into remission. I think it would be correct to consider the altered T-cells nanobots.

The military has been relatively quiet about their work with nanobots. However, the use of United States military robots dates back to World War I, with its use of torpedoes. As is clear from recent conflicts, military robotics are now an indispensable technology the United States, and other countries, use to make war. A new thrust in military robotics is emerging, namely shrinking them.  For example, on December 16, 2014, the Army Research Laboratory announced creation of a “fly drone” weighing a small fraction of a gram. The fly drone’s capabilities are secret, but it is plausible the fly drone will offer the United States military the ability to enter buildings, perform surveillance, and potentially offensive operations. This gives a completely new meaning to “fly on the wall.” Although the Army did not comment on the construction of the fly drone, I judge it incorporates nanotechnology. If the Army is willing to announce development on a fly size drone, it is likely that they have even smaller more advanced drones in development.

You might wonder how does a fly drone provide offensive capabilities. Similar to the way biological flies spread diseases, the fly drone could deposit a toxic substance on an adversary’s food. For example, it may be used to deposit botulinum toxin H, the most lethal toxin in existence. The lethal dose is 100 nanograms. That amount of toxin would be impossible to see, smell, or taste.

I wrote this post to make an important point. Nanobots have move from sci-fi to science fact. Millions of nanobots can cure diseases like cancer or, as nanoweapons, become nanoweapons of mass destruction (NMD). Technology is ethically neutral. It is up to humanity to use the technology ethically.

 

Book cover titled 'Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity' by Louis A. Del Monte with small insect-like figures.

Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity (Book)

My new book and the first in its genre, Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity, is now available at a special introductory price of 30% off from all popular booksellers.

From the Publisher, Potomac Books

Nearly Invisible Weapons of Mass Destruction 

 
Nanoweapons just might render humanity extinct in the near future—a notion that is frightening and shocking but potentially true. In Nanoweapons Louis A. Del Monte describes the most deadly generation of military weapons the world has ever encountered. With dimensions one-thousandth the diameter of a single strand of human hair, this technology threatens to eradicate humanity as it incites world governments to compete in the deadliest arms race ever.

In his insightful and prescient account of this risky and radical technology, Del Monte predicts that nanoweapons will dominate the battlefield of the future and will help determine the superpowers of the twenty-first century. He traces the emergence of nanotechnology, discusses the current development of nanoweapons—such as the “mini-nuke,” which weighs five pounds and carries the power of one hundred tons of TNT—and offers concrete recommendations, founded in historical precedent, for controlling their proliferation and avoiding human annihilation. Most critically, Nanoweapons addresses the question: Will it be possible to develop, deploy, and use nanoweapons in warfare without rendering humanity extinct?

Louis A. Del Monte is an award-winning physicist, featured speaker, and is the chief executive officer of Del Monte and Associates, Inc. During his thirty-year career as a physicist and business executive at IBM and Honeywell, he led the development of microelectronics and sensors and developed patents fundamental to the fabrication of integrated circuits. He is the author of The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Will Artificial Intelligence Serve Us or Replace Us? and How to Time Travel: Explore the Science, Paradoxes, and Evidence.

Praise

Louis Del Monte provides a futurist clarion call for people to start thinking and talking about this emerging technology—a technology fraught with the potential for great good and great harm.”—Col. Thomas R. Lujan, U.S. Army (Ret.), attorney at law

Nanoweapons opens the cloak of secrecy on the developing area of nanotechnologies and how societies may use them in the future for good and evil. A very captivating topic.”—Tamara Bratland, engineer for a Fortune 500 medical device company

“A very informative read. Nanotechnology can enhance our lives or eradicate humankind. This book can help preserve our future.”—Richard Spielberger, former Honeywell Engineer Fellow

Get Your Copy Now At 30% Off

 

Download Publisher PDF Information and Order Form

At Your Favorite Local Bookstore

A digital representation of technology with a smartphone, tablet, and laptop connected by circuits and data streams.

Will Artificial Intelligence Cause Human Extinction?

Will your grandchildren face extinction? Even worse, will they become robotic slaves to a supercomputer?

Humanity is facing its greatest challenge, artificial intelligence (AI). Recent experiments suggest even primitive artificially intelligent machines are capable of learning deceit, greed, and self-preservation, without being programmed to do so. There is alarming evidence that artificial intelligence, without legislation to police its development, will displace humans as the dominant species by the end of the twenty-first century.

There is no doubt that AI is the new scientific frontier, and it is making its way into many aspects of our lives. Our world includes “smart” machines with varying degrees of AI, including touch-screen computers, smartphones, self-parking cars, smart bombs, pacemakers, and brain implants to treat Parkinson’s disease. In essence, AI is changing the cultural landscape, and we are embracing it at an unprecedented rate. Currently, humanity is largely unaware of the potential dangers that strong artificially intelligent machines pose. In this context, the word “strong” signifies AI greater than human intelligence.

Most of humanity perceives only the positive aspects of AI technology. This includes robotic factories, such as Tesla Motors, which manufactures electric cars that are ecofriendly. There’s also the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic platform designed to expand the surgeon’s capabilities and offer a state-of-the-art, minimally invasive option for major surgery. These are only two of many examples of how AI is positively affecting our lives. However, there is a dark side. For example, Gartner Inc., a technology research group, forecasts robots and drones will replace a third of all workers by 2025. Could AI create an unemployment crisis? The US military is deploying AI into many aspects of warfare. Will autonomous drones replace human pilots and make war more palatable to technologically advanced countries? As AI permeates the medical field, the average human lifespan will increase. Eventually, strong artificially intelligent humans (SAHs) with AI brain implants to enhance their intelligence and cybernetic organs will become immortal. Will this exacerbate the worldwide population crisis, which already as a concern at the United Nations? By 2045 most AI futurists predict that a single strong artificially intelligent machine (SAM) will exceed the cognitive intelligence of the entire human race. How will SAMs view us? Objectively, humanity is an unpredictable species. We engage in wars, develop weapons capable of destroying the world, and maliciously release computer viruses. Will SAMs view us as a threat? Will we be able to maintain control of strong AI or will we fall victim to our own invention?

A fiery image of Earth with flames surrounding it, highlighting the continents in vivid purple and orange tones.

What Is Causing Climate Change?

Let’s look at climate change from a scientific perspective, but acknowledge lay public opinion. About 97% of scientists, based on published peer reviewed papers, and 75% of the lay public, based on opinion polls, believe the current trend in global warming is due to human activity, especially burning fossil fuels. Here are some salient facts:

  • According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations, the Earth’s climate is warming, as discuss in Chapter 5. The IPCC estimates there is a 95% probability that humans are causing most of it by burning fossil fuels, engaging in deforestation, and using aerosol spray
  • According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the number one cause of climate change comes from burning fossil fuels, with over 40% due to burning coal to generate electricity and 33% from vehicle emissions.
  • Numerous other respected scientific organization, such as the Royal Society, American Geophysical Union, Joint Science Academies, American Meteorological Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science, also attribute global warming to the human-caused increase in greenhouse gas concentrations
  • About 3% of scientists disagree and the popular media have given them strong representation. This in turn has caused significant lay public and political debate, especially in the United States
  • The scientific consensus in a “nutshell”: The rapid increase in carbon dioxide, which has almost doubled during the last century to the point it is becoming toxic to numerous species, is responsible for the “greenhouse effect.” {Note: Merriam-Webster.com defines the “greenhouse effect” as follows: warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of a planet (as Earth or Venus) that is caused by conversion of solar radiation into heat in a process involving selective transmission of short wave solar radiation by the atmosphere, its absorption by the planet’s surface, and reradiation as infrared which is absorbed and partly reradiated back to the surface by atmospheric gases}
  • Dissenting scientific views: There is no consensus among dissenting scientists regarding the cause of climatic change. Dissenting debate has centered on two points:
  1. Climate sensitivity – how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases
  2. Consequences of global warming – how the climate will respond locally and globally to greenhouse gases

The preponderance of scientific evidence makes a strong case that human activity, especially burning fossil fuels, is responsible for global warming. It points out no scientific body of national or international standing maintains a formal opinion dissenting from any of the main points put forward by the IPCC.

A split image showing one side with a green tree under a blue sky and the other side with a barren tree under an orange sky on dry cracked ground.

Is Climate Change Real?

Although the reality of climate change has become a political issue, the scientific evidence argues it is real. Consider these points:

  • The change in the atmosphere – NASA data indicates that the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere are higher than they have been at any time in the past 400,000 years. In 2013, carbon dioxide levels surpassed 400 ppm (i.e., parts per million) for the first time in recorded history, and it continues to rise. At levels above 550 ppm, the carbon dioxide will become harmful to humans
  •  Global temperature increase – NASA data shows an increase in global temperatures. Best scientific estimates suggest a rise of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880. Recent data indicates most of this warming has occurred since the 1970s
  • Sea level rise – EPA data, including satellite measurements, indicates a global sea level rise of 8 inches since 1880 due to melting ice at the polar caps and the thermal expansion of “warming oceans”
  • The warming oceans – NASA data indicates the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969
  • Shrinking ice sheets – NASA’s data shows Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006. Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005
  • Declining Arctic sea ice – NASA data indicates that the Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. In response, NASA has launched “Operation IceBridge” to image the Earth’s polar ice and understand processes that connect the polar regions with the global climate system
  • Glacial retreat – factually, glaciers are retreating around the world, including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa
  • Extreme events – According to the EPA the number of record high temperature events has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. Concurrently, intense rainfall events are increasing
  • Ocean acidification – According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution. This increase results from the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans, which is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year
  • Decreased snow cover – NASA satellites reveal that the spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier

The preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that the climate is trending toward catastrophic change. This leads to an important question, “Why?” I’ll address “Why?” in my next post.