title: Reality of rapid convergence.
abstract: A major series of conferences, workshops, and research projects has established the crucial importance of convergence across all fields of science and technology. Central to this unification at the present time are the NBIC fields: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and new technologies based on cognitive science. This book provides an overview of this crucial phase change in human culture, beginning with four chapters offering an overview, followed by four chapters about nanobioconvergence, two about the ways in which information infrastructure can promote convergence, four chapters on cognitive technologies, and four addressing the social and ethical implications of this profound revolution.
authors.affiliation: Division of Information and Intelligent Systems National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA. wbainbri@nsf.gov
authors.forename: William Sims
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Bainbridge
authors.forename: Mihail C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Roco
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000639:trends*; D019336:Cognitive Science / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems / Q000639:trends*; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000639:trends*