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
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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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