Committee

Committee: Commission on Science and Technology for Development



County: United Kingdom







Identifying Risks of New and Emerging Technology







PART 1: BACKGROUND



Since the start of the new millennium there has been a surprising increase in the



amount of new technology. Technologies that include, cell phones, wind up cell phones,



disposable cell phones, hybrid cars, genetically modified fruit, artificial hearts and livers,



virtual ultrasounds, nasal mist flu shots, food cooling systems, food containers that



measure ripeness, water purifiers the size an office water cooler, mini autonomous robots,



optical guides buses, and heat generating jackets. All of these are just a few of the new



and emerging technology. Fortunately many of these new technologies pertain to



medicine, health, energy and computers. This new technology has all made the



previously mentioned fields a lot more efficient. Unfortunately with new technology



come risks, especially with medical technology where it could easily be a matter between



life and death. Nowadays technology can be divided between medical, communication,



and energy. Medical technology may include things like artificial hearts to food cooling



systems to nanotechnology. Communication includes radios, cell phone, and computers.



Finally energy may include anything from natural to nuclear to hydrogen gasses. The



main focus of technology that this committee is dealing with right now includes hydrogen



power, cheap computers, cell phones, and nanotechnology. Each technology has its



aspects to deal with. For example, the issues that are revolved around hydrogen power

include perfecting generators and fuel cells that may become the main source of energy to



provide electricity. One important notation that should come to mind is that hydrogen



fuel may be of the most, if not the most, environmentally friendly source of energy that



has ever been created. Cheap computers are one of the best ways for countries that want



to contribute to developing nations, but may not be able to contribute too much. One of



the main issues of concern of these type computers is the threat of crackers and hackers.



Finally is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology was once thought of as science fiction, but



with the latest discoveries it has become a very viable option for medicine.



Nanotechnology basically refers to a field of science and technology in which a person



can control matter on an atomic scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the creation of



devices within that size range. The possibilities of nanotechnology are endless. With so



many different aspects to this issue there is no doubt why the international community



must be involved.



PART 2: UN INVOLVEMENT



In the UN this issue has involved a lot more of the different blocks themselves.



The groups that have put forth there input in the topic include the African Economic



Community (AEC), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the European Union (EU),



members from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and also members



from the Pacific Regional Trade Agreement (PRTA). The Ace’s primary focus is on the



need for energy that many of their supporters have. Among the options for a source of



energy, nuclear power was discussed in 2005, but it has not been expound upon since.



For all three of Naphtha’s members, the US, Mexico, and Canada, they each have at least



2 nuclear power plants in their countries, and each has their own board of experts that

oversee all of the safety issues of the plants. Advocates of self-regulation have shown that



in the entire history that these countries have been using their plants; there has never been



a massive failure of a plant in North America. Due to this impressive achievement, many



countries refer back to how the NAFTA nations run their plants and use their techniques



as framework on how to regulate and manage the nuclear power in their own country.



First of all, the Gulf Cooperation Council includes the member states of Kuwait, Qatar,



Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Secondly the GCC’s



main priority is the research into hydrogen power. Even though all of these countries do



rely on vast amounts of oil reserves, they realize that oil is slowly coming to an end and it



will no longer be a high valued commodity. However, for right now they believe there



will be a balance between hydrogen fuel and oil power until hydrogen is put into some



sort of mass production or mass use. Switching out of the concept of energy, the EU has



wanted more research to be done in the field of medical technology. Just as NAFTA



members use a board of experts to oversee their nuclear plants, the EU has the National



Ethics Committee that oversees all of their research, so that is conducted in an intelligent



lawful way. Like the GCC, the members of the PRTA believe that oil is slowly closing



the curtain to its reign, and hydrogen power will be the next greatest performer. This is an



important note because the members of the PRTA manufacture around 60% of all cars, in



the world, on a road today. As far as resolutions are concerned, there are two that deserve



some attention towards, which are Resolution 1995/54, and Resolution 2005/38.



Resolution 1995/54 is in perfect harmony with both the committee and the topic at hand.



Some of its finer points include urging all nations to increase their assistance for the



development of science and technology as well as for the activities of organizations that

are relatively involved, and also the funds and programs that pertain to the issue. Another



strong point is to possibly enhance the amount of research and development institutions



in developing nations. Resolution 2005/38 touches upon solutions that pertain to the



members of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).



Some of the solutions include the assistance of member states of ESCAP in strengthening



their capabilities to develop national innovating systems and also to develop, transfer,



adapt, and apply technology that has recently been improved. With all these different



groups focusing on different aspects of the issue it quickly adds the whole UN body.



PART 3: UNITED KINGDOM’S POLICY



The United Kingdom is sticking with the other members of the EU and is more



focused on medical technology than energy technology. This is partly because the UK is



already a fully functioning plant and because we simply feel that the medical technology



is a more oppressing matter. Another reason is that, like the EU we feel that we are



falling behind the US in both research and development, and we think that we and the EU



are capable of ingenious discoveries just as much as the US is. The UK is highly



interested in the rewards of nanotechnology. Even though the main function of



nanotechnology is carrying out surgeries and operations that where once thought to be



impossible without insurmountable risks, the UK feels the possibilities that



nanotechnology can bring to the floor are endless. They could be used to cure anything



from a sore throat to cancer or from healing a scratch on your hand to repairing muscle



tissue around your heart. However, we do understand the risks of nanotechnology such as



turning into a biological weapon, which the UK feels that under no circumstances must it



be allowed to happen. The UK believes that all of this new and emerging technology is a

perfect way to help in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The UK feels that



the nanotechnology can help reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, and combat



HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The development of hydrogen power and the



implementation of nuclear power can help with eradicating extreme poverty because it



could build up the infrastructure of countries and can ensure environmental stability. The



assertion of cheap computers can with achieving primary education, promote gender



equality and empower women, and help to develop a global partnership for development.



The UK feels that the only kind of government that might need to be replaced to prevent



to the misuse of the technology is any country with a dictatorship. We feel that for the



most part the military ambitions of dictators are just too great to allow them to have this



type of technology. Seeing is how the UK doesn’t really have any economic issues to



deal with, the research that we are interested in doesn’t really gear towards economic



growth. Another point to add is that the research we are currently involved is medical.



However, if the UK was in say Africa, then we feel that the most influential and



beneficial technology to stabilize their economy is hydrogen and nuclear power. The UK



does have nuclear technology and we are taking precautions to ensure the safety of the



workers and the people of our country. Like the US, the UK has a panel of experts that



oversees all the safety aspects of the plants. The board also sends inspectors every three



months to assess the maintenance of the plants. If the inspectors do find a problem that



they considered to be life threatening they do have the authority to immediately shut



down the plant until the matter is resolved. The final aspect that the UK would like to



bring attention to is hydrogen power. For the most part the UK believes that the rewards



out way the risks. In retrospect hydrogen fuel does come down to the fact that it can

either give life or take it away. We completely agree that the hazards of hydrogen cars far



out weigh the rewards. The UK also thinks the hazards need to have serious attention



brought about them to resolve the issue. The UK also feels that under no circumstances



should any country produce a hydrogen car with proving that it is just as safe as any other



car, if not safer. We feel that if research continues to be as promising as it today, the UK



feel would at least like to develop hydrogen power plants within the 5 years or so. As



many countries are probably thinking, with new technology comes new risks and the UK



is no different. Like the previous, the UK’s country policy is a gateway into what kind of



solutions we wish to implement



PART 4: SOLTUTIONS



One of the issues that deal with all of this new technology is the development new



safety precautions to combat the risks of the technology. For example to solve the



problem of crackers and hackers infiltrating cheap computers, the UK feels that one



viable solution is to first try to educate the people about how serious the threat of crackers



and hackers can be, as well as how much damage they can do. Some of the information



that would be brought forthwith would include telling them to be mindful and careful



about the kind of personal information they send out and also for those who may start a



business, the UK feels that those companies should keep track of their money



transactions. Primarily the UK feels that the cheap computers should be used by schools



where the software can be limited and surveyed a lot easier. Going back to the issue of



hydrogen power issue that needs to be resolved include the containment of the fuel cells



in motorized vehicles, how to obtain the energy needed to start the hydrogen process



going, and also the transportation of the energy. To deal with containment issue, the UK

feels that we need to first perfect the containment device itself and worry about what it



looks like later. The UK feels that one interesting solution to this problem would be not



to put the tanks into cars, but in public transportation like busses. If the tank is on a bus



then not only can it be stowed away in a much more secure area, but also can be braced



with higher grade protection. For example, if the tank is placed on the bottom of the bus



with a 3 inch blast screen under the lining of the bus. The blast screens could be used to



surround the containment unit on the outside. Another situation that might arrive is say



for instance a bus or some kind of vehicle is containing hydrogen and it is hijacked. The



UK feels that some sort of quick release button should be installed in all vehicles that



handle the hydrogen so they can release the gas if necessary. Also to ensure that the



hydrogen is not accidentally ignited by the exhaust on of three options can be



implemented. The first is the exhaust pipe can be fitted to the top of the bus like on semi-



trucks. The second is to have a mechanism momentarily close the exhaust pipe as the



hydrogen is passing by. Finally the third is a combination of the two where the exhaust is



closed completely, but the gases are pushed through the pipe fitted on top of the bus. The



same type of modifications can be placed on other means of transportation as well, but of



course a few more adjustments would need to be made. The final aspect of hydrogen



power that the UK feel should be addressed is how to obtain the necessary energy to put



to get the fuel cells running. We feel the first option would be to see if solar plants and



other means of alternative energy can yield enough energy to stat the hydrogen process.



If that is not the case the second option would be to use the energy generated from fossil



fuel plant to power up one hydrogen plant and then that plant can provide for the rest of



the plants. Finally if that can not succeed the then UK feels that’s at this point in time

there’s nothing left to do except go back to drawing board to do more research on how to



make the hydrogen power more efficient so that it can rely on less electricity to start the



process going. The next and final issue to deal with is that of nanotechnology. Due to the



fact that there has not been any concrete development from nanotechnology there really



aren’t too many issues that need to be resolved. However, the UK feels that one



important issue that needs to be resolved is the matter of turning nanotechnology into a



biological weapon. At this point in time, the UK feels that the only viable solution to the



problem would be to implement a serious of override codes that can immediately shut



down the nanotechnology. There will be four different types of codes; one is for the



hospital if the nano-bots start to malfunction, the second is for the head of the country



just in case a shipment of nanotechnology is stolen, the third is for the UN use, and the



finally the fourth will be a master code that will be able to shut down all the



nanotechnology in the world. Also each hospital and country code will be different from



each other as well as the code for the UN being different then the one the government can



use. This UK feels this is a pretty secure measure because not only does it make more



difficult for hackers to gain access to them, is also makes dramatically harder for



terrorists to use the technology is they are able to gain control of some. The UK strongly



believes that if all of the measure previously stated, from all issues of the topic, then there



will be a lot less risk to all of this new technology.