Negotiating Plausibility: Intervening in the Future of Nanotechnology |
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Authors: | Cynthia Selin |
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Institution: | (1) Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA |
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Abstract: | The national-level scenarios project NanoFutures focuses on the social, political, economic, and ethical implications of nanotechnology,
and is initiated by the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU). The project involves novel
methods for the development of plausible visions of nanotechnology-enabled futures, elucidates public preferences for various
alternatives, and, using such preferences, helps refine future visions for research and outreach. In doing so, the NanoFutures
project aims to address a central question: how to deliberate the social implications of an emergent technology whose outcomes
are not known. The solution pursued by the NanoFutures project is twofold. First, NanoFutures limits speculation about the
technology to plausible visions. This ambition introduces a host of concerns about the limits of prediction, the nature of plausibility, and how
to establish plausibility. Second, it subjects these visions to democratic assessment by a range of stakeholders, thus raising
methodological questions as to who are relevant stakeholders and how to activate different communities so as to engage the
far future. This article makes the dilemmas posed by decisions about such methodological issues transparent and therefore
articulates the role of plausibility in anticipatory governance. |
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Keywords: | |
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