Nanotechnology: public concerns, reasoning and trust in government

Abstract

Public perceptions of emergent technologies have become increasingly important to understand, in part due to the worldwide backlash against genetically modified foods, which effectively stalled a new industry. In this context, and given the predicted importance of nanotechnology, this article reports an investigation of US citizens' concerns about nanotechnology development. The study investigated both the perceptions of informed citizens and the reasoning basis underlying concerns, as well as explored public concerns in relation to four projected applications of nanotechnology. Two of the applications investigated were thought to be potentially controversial and, thus, perhaps particularly important to formation of public opinion. Results presented here include concerns that were consistent across the study sample, and concerns specific to different regions of the United States. The study found low trust in government to manage risks, and that medical and industrial uses were related to lowest trust in government to manage risks. Higher education levels were also related to lower trust in government to effectively manage risks. Study participants' concerns were largely based on experiential knowledge about past “breakthroughs” whose limitations and negative effects were poorly understood initially, and even when once known, were poorly managed.