Knowledge society is a society where the primary production resource is knowledge, rather than capital, labor or even raw materials. In such societies, accumulated and newly discovered knowledge will be the dominant element supporting not only economic but also social and cultural activities. If one looks around modern societies, one can observe the huge volume of knowledge that underlies almost everything we do, including how we think.
Knowledge supporting community activity is not something new. Even ancient tribes observed, acquired and passed on knowledge about weather patterns and about the best practices for obtaining desired results. Activities like agriculture and fishing benefited from such knowledge. What is different in modern times is the huge volume of knowledge, the ease of sharing it globally and the elimination of the need for geographical proximity for knowledge societies to arise.
As against physical meeting places and bulletin boards, it is Web portals, chat rooms, video conferences and other information distribution and collaboration environments that dominate the modern scenario.
Validating the results of scientific research through economic achievements that benefit members of the society has become a major topic of study.
Nanotechnology is a field in which many countries, including developing countries, have invested heavily. It is a field with many promises, and also many unknown risks. It is in such a context that many conferences and movements are focusing on nanotechnology.
The article on Nanotechnology for a Knowledge Society in Emerging Economies and Developing Countries discusses this concern.
