Buzzwords for the Future?

[LongTomH]

There's a really interesting post over at the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology blog:

Buzzwords for the Future:

Openness - Can mean several things, including net neutrality, source code access, transparency, and general willingness to consider new ideas. Attempts by corporate marketers and government spinmeisters to co-opt the meme likely will be common. Right now, there is a huge issue brewing in the reassignment of a big part of the radio spectrum. CRN considers these to be crucial issues that could either complicate or simplify the creation of an open molecular manufacturing infrastructure as we've advocated.

Trust - When you get an email, how do you know you can trust that it's safe to open? How do you know that it's from who it says it's from? How do you know that an offered product is legitimate and not a knockoff, or that an online "service" company is not fraudulent?

Sousveillance - A word coined by Steve Mann to describe the process of bottom-up ubiquitous observation and recording as opposed to top-down surveillance; similar to Jamais Cascio's participatory panopticon, except a little easier to say. Imagine what might be done with cheap miniature networked devices -- several generations beyond today's camera phones -- in the hands of millions of people. No matter what it eventually is called, this will be among the most explosive issues of the next decade.

I've expressed concern over the fact that so much of the debate over the future is dominated by conservative think tanks, like the Heritage Foundation. Chris Phoenix and Mike Treder, founders of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology are among the exceptions; they're definitely on the progressive end of the spectrum. They have the same concerns I have - that the emerging technologies be developed for the benefit of us all, not just the elites.