Nanotechnology, where will it take us?

I found the ideas mentioned by Castells about nanotechnolgy to be very interesting. He stated that with nanotechnology, theoretically, a chip could be made with the computing power of 100 computers (in 1999) that could fit in a single grain of salt! I was amazed by this. When this technology becomes viable, it seems, the possibilities will be limitless.

Because the computers will be on a molecular level, they can be incorporated into the fabric of our clothes and the paint on our walls. This would truely be a flat screen tv, just paint your living room with paint containing nanotubes, and presto, every wall and even your ceiling will be a tv. With the nanodevices in our clothing, this could alert us to smoke in the case of a fire.

Currently, nanotechnology is being utilized in sunscreen, and in computer hard drives by way of a giant magnetoresistance heads "that, through nano-thin layers of magnetic materials allow for a significant increase in storage capacity." Also, in 2000, the nanotube equipped jumbotron lamp started to diffuse into society by providing light at most sports stadiums. Other future uses, include medical applications which will allow a more accurate delivery of medicine to affected areas within the body, cancer cells for instance. (I will talk more about potential applications next week)

Not all are excited about nanotech. Some research shows that inhalation of nanoparticals can cause cancer. Others worry that the development of autonomous nanobots could lead to a situation where nanobots attack humans. See novel Prey, by Michael Crichton for a worst case scenario of this. So where does this technology leave us? What are our responsibilities when it comes to nanotech development?