tage 4
August 4, 1999
fTlii jodiani» ffibwruer
<JocusJ>
The Information Revolution: For Good or Evil?
ety. Will these technologies help
us
alleviate our
us alleviate
our problems
problems or
or ag-
ag-
gravate them? Are there hidden
The information technology revo
lution is a key driving force for
many changes throughout soci-
benefits and evils of the Inform a
tion Society? And what will be the
impacts on jobs, the environ-
ment, and the quality of knowl-
edge
questions were
eage itself?
itseir ' These
i nese questions
were
____i by . a
—__.1
—X of experts at
debated
panel
INFORMATION
70
is the Critical Resource
of the Future
come the peasants of the informa
tion society.
So in a rapidly changing infor
information expands as it is
used. Information is less hun mation environment there is going
gry for other resources; the to be much less excuse for depriv
ing whole populations of the ben
higher the tech, the less energy
and raw materials are needed. In efits of development that could ben
formation can, and increasingly efit the many, not only the few.
We’re living at a very special
does, replace land, labor, and capi
moment
in humankind’s long as
tal. Information is readily trans
cent
toward
civilized behavior. It is
portable. Information leaks. Infor
the
consequence
of the enormous
mation is shared, not exchanged;
By Harlan Cleveland
U't'
By Micheál Marien
There is no doubt at all that an
information revolution is happen
ing, but there is considerable doubt
about whether the positive impacts
outweigh the negative impacts, both
now and in the future.
Here is my top-10 list of nega
tives; I’ll start at the bottom and
work up to the number-one prob
lem.
10 The information revolution is
bad for equality, creating ever-
greater social gaps within and be
tween nations.
It’s bad for quality of life. It speeds
the pace of life and makes time
increasingly scarce.
i It’s bad for privacy. Interlinked
databases have your name, your
numbers, and much more about you.
?. It’s bad for democracy - so far, at
least. Of course, there’s the promise
of enhanced citizen participation
and electronic town meetings, but
don’t confuse the potential with the
reality. Ironically, as a society be
comes more complex, people are
turned off of politics and turned on
to an expanding variety of electronic
entertainment.
6. It’s bad for the
environment. The
sustainable society,
which is something
we need in the fu
ture, is being dis
placed by the glitzy
Information Soci
ety. It is a distrac
tion from the neces
sity of building a
sustainable society.
*
a forum held by The Futurist
magazine,
differing
t■ layam ic, and
ai w their
u
ic. y per-
rruv+iwac
ara nraccin.fod
spectives are
presented HoIrtiA/
below.
S- It’s bad for jobs. As new software
becomes more widespread, we can
expect more unemployment and un
der-employment.
Q. It’s bad for national security. We
have the capacity to wage infowar,
but we are also equally vulnerable
to infowar and infoterrorism.
/
it gives rise to sharing
transactions, not to ex
change transactions.
advances of science and technol
ogy, sparked by information science
and information technology, which
have . ow made the human species,
for the first time, the lead actor in
its own evolution.
Harlan Cleveland is a contribut
ing writer associated with the World
Futurist Society and “The Futurist”
publication. To comment on his ar
ticle, he can be reached by e-mail at
wfsinfo@wfs.org.
LOCAL HOT SPOT
The Fairness
Revolution
J. It is bad for law and order. Com
puter crime is a major cost for busi
ness and government, and much of
it is not recorded.
The growing impor
tance of information in
creatin g w ealth has
turned out to be very good
news for countries less en
2 It is bad for the future. Why? dowed with geological
Quite possibly because infotech and riches and arable land. Ja
infosociety have made the future pan, for example, with vir
unappealing and created a reaction tually no conventional fu
against the future by those who, els or useful minerals,
unconsciously or not, want to stop with a short growing sea
the world and get off.
son and much farmland
we would call marginal,
1. The number-one negative is that was forced by physical
having much more information is poverty to bet on the only
bad for our heads. It is bad because sure resource it had: the
it produces infoglut, which may well minds of its own people.
be the greatest under-studied prob
By contrast, in the
lem of our time.
countries whose people
Michael Marien is a contribut have been kept in igno
ing writer associated with the World rance, ft hardly seems to
Futurist Society and “The Futurist" matter which riches lie in
publication. To comment on his ar the space they occupy.
ticle, he can be reached by e-mail at Most of their citizens be
wfsinfo@wfs.org.
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