Buckley’s Mix

Nanobots

Posted July 29, 2009, 12:07 ET Comments Off

A friend writes about his interest in nanotechnology, and as he is an expert in the law of war wonders whether nanotech weapons might contravene treaties concerning poison gas and the like. An interesting question.

From a scientific perspective, there is little difference in kind between bacteriological warfare and the microscopic nanobots of science fiction that swarm about the enemy like bees and kill them. So on on what basis might nanobots be defended?

The search is for some principle that distinguishes between humane and inhumane weapons. Now this might seem futile, in a nuclear age, where bombs are dropped from 50,000 feet. The point, however, is that nanobots are more humane than a good many other modern weapons.

Unlike B-52′s and atom bombs, nanobots can in theory distinguish between enemy combatants and civilians. And unlike poison gas, nanobots in theory offer clean kills, rapid and relatively painless, as opposed to the gas that blinded WWI soldiers.

I have a bias here, of course.  Nanobot weapons favor high tech nations. And these are generally the good guys.

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