The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes PDF
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The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes Editors JACQUES BERLEUR Institut d'Infonnatique, Facultes Universitaires Notre-Dame de Ia Paix Namur, Belgium ANDREW CLEMENT Faculty of Library and Infonnation Science, University of Toronto Toronto, Canada RICHARD SIZER British Computer Society London, United J(jngdom DIANE WHITEHOUSE London Business School London, United /(jngdom ' Springer Science+Business Media, LLC ~~ © 1990 by Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Springer-Verlag New York lnc. in 1990 Softcover reprint of the bardeover 1st edition 1990 All rigbts reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means without permission. ISBN 978-0-387-97453-8 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: The information society : evolving Iandscapes Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-387-97453-8 ISBN 978-1-4757-4328-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-4328-9 1. Information technology-Social aspects. 2. Computers - Social aspects. 3. Telecommunication - Social aspects. I. Berleur, J. HC79.155164 1990 303.48'33 C90-094933--3 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Report from Namur An IFIP-WG9.2 Reader on Social Accountability of Computing and Telecommunication International Federation for Information Processing Acknowledgements T HE editors would like to acknowledge the assistance of the administrative staffs of the Informatics Institute, the Rector's, and the Public Relations offices of the University ofNamur (FuNDP), Belgium, for their help in the setting up and smooth running of the meeting from which this Reader originates. We would especially like to thank Rita Coulonval-Polet, Dominique Gerimont, Michel Dassy, and Germain Kelner for all their hard work in assisting us. Our thanks also to the Belgian National Scientific Fund (FNRS), the Institut d'Informatique of the FuNDP, the International Federation for Information Pro cessing (IFIP) and the Federation des Associations Informatiques Belges (FAIB) for their financial contributions towards the occured expenses. We would like to thank all the authors for their provision of material on floppy disk and magnetic tape, from which their texts were read, and especially Bart De Greef of Philips Research Laboratories, The Netherlands, for his technical assistance in helping to produce camera ready copy of the Pre prints. In addition to the individual contributors to this book, and their active partici pation in the plenary sessions which shaped the book's format, we would like to express our appreciation of the early involvement of Abbe Mowshowitz in the project and the continuously positive and constructive input to the book's con cepts by the collective members of IFIP W.G.9.2 (Computers and Society). It is from the heart of this interdisciplinary forum that our ideas on society and information technology emerge and shape our Landscapes. The Editors v Preface 0 UR Reader consists of a set of essays written by international authors many of whom are acknowledged experts in one or more aspects of information technology (IT) and its implications for society. The contents have been influenced by the fact that the relationship between IT and society has to be considered in an holistic context. Our purpose has been to present this series of essays in the loosely related perspectives of landscapes which reflect that holism. As editors, we have chosen to leave people free to select the different perspectives and traverse the landscapes in any manner they choose. The Reader seeks to raise social awareness of the issues at stake when we talk about computers1 and social accountability and aims to encourage wider discus sion of the issues involved. It has a normative set of aims and indicates a determi nation to explore a possible reshaping and restructuring of information technol ogy according to human needs. In an Epilogue, new pointers are given for action. In what follows, we describe the rationale behind "The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes"; we move from the conference held at the University of Namur in June, 1988, which shaped the perspectives, then on to the various routes by which the landscapes can be traversed. * * * * First, our landscapes are not pictures hanging on the walls of a museum or exhibition hall in commemoration of the past. They are more than the different images provided by individual authors. Instead, they are living landscapes, which provide us with contemporary views of an information society that is still evolv ing. Some aspects are clear and bold while many are shrouded and ill-formed. We can see shapes emerging that fill us with hope for the future and others that threaten. What has our society become by embracing information technology? What can we make it into? At first we may prefer the comfort of following familiar paths of enquiry. Later we will be drawn to explore and invent our own. 1 The different authors use a variety of terms to describe information technology. We have maintained this diversity rather than substitute a single common term to cover all forms of computing. vi Preface The paths are marked by cairns1 which have traced our own journeys. Even in a single landscape, many different routes are available. In "The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes" specialists from different fields construct the cairns to be followed at will, but both perspicacity and perse verance are needed to explore the landscapes. How, for example, does one select a route which encompasses "Computers and the Law", "Computers and Democ racy"; "Working conditions in a computerized society"; "The legitimacy of an information society"? We, the editors, have chosen to enter the landscapes through the ethical perspective, then on to culture, economics and politics. How ever, we must all be aware of the dangers of over-specialization. Nietzsche, who believed firmly in the role of science as participation in the creative process was, nevertheless, one of the first philosophers to draw attention to the dangers of over-specialization in any one particular field. In Thus Spake Zarathustra,2 he told the following tale: A scientist was examining leeches in a marsh when Zarathustra, the prophet, approached him and asked if he was a specialist in the ways of the leech. "0 Zarathustra", ... "that would be something immense; how could I presume to do so! ... That, however, of which I am master and knower, is the brain of the leech: that is my world! ... For the sake of this did I cast everything else aside, for the sake of this did everything else become indifferent to me ... " Over-specialization to the detriment of generalist knowledge may have adverse effects, as it did in the case of the above scientist who knew little or nothing else about the world in which he lived. There are failures in many information and communication systems, the de signers of which fail to take into account the surrounding social or organisational context. Learning from the way in which Nietzsche criticises over-specialization, "The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes" is not intended to provide spe cialists with a view of their own and others' specializations. Rather, it is meant to induce interdisciplinary messages by the mutual gathering together of different views of experiences, disciplines and ethics. Our information society is pluralistic. We must not be specialists merely in the marsh, the pond or the hill: our eyes must be open to the work of others. In entering the landscapes we become, as well, part of a treasure hunt, for which there is a prize. The cairns guide us on our chosen route, the stones indicating aspects of particular perspectives. The prize, however, is not a tangible one won at the end of the journey but the journey itself; just as the prize of a pilgrimage is not just the chance to worship in the last temple but the pilgrimage. 1 Cairns are the piles of stones which mark the path on journeys across (often mountainous) landscapes. 2 F.W. Nietzsche, The Complete Works ofF riedrich Nietzsche, Vol. 11, 'Thus Spake Zarathoustra', 1909, pp. 301-306. vii Preface • • • • In planning the conference, each author was asked to write his or her paper from a specialist point of view and to make personal contributions in their field; they were encouraged to take a judgemental, innovative stance. The resultant papers were distributed to all attendees before the conference, thus the confer ence was a prototype for one of the journeys provided in "The Information Society: Evolving Landscapes". The ultimate aim of the conference-to achieve an holistic process of cross disciplinary interaction-started with a "disciplinary day", showing how the land scapes are comprised of different perspectives. The results of these deliberations are illustrated in Appendix 1. On the second day, interdisciplinary discussions produced the first clues for the treasure hunt: the results are shown in Appendix 2. On the third day, the "holistic day", each author's paper was subjected to critical and specific analysis in a plenary session. Recommendations were made to each author; each was asked to amend his or her paper according to the discussion and comments made during the three days of debate. We saw the innovatory nature of the conference, its interactiveness and its role in the preparation of the Reader as amongst its most important aspects. The Reader thus covers the broad spectrum comprising "Computers and Society'', the generic theme of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) TC9. Constant developments in information and communication technologies, however, raise new ethical, legal, political, economic and sociological questions. The book covers these issues in separate sections but, rather than start with techniques as applied to social and cultural issues, we chose to open this Reader with "Ethics of Computing", so underlining our belief that a civilized community needs to have a set of criteria for its progress and development. We also chose to relegate the (newer) specific, technical issues to the fmal section of the Reader, even though they pervade the entirety of the landscapes. Each reader will choose different keywords as guides across the landscapes; the authors have selected theirs. Locate the cairns which help your journey. Stop somewhere, in a specific section of the Reader, pause and enjoy what you discover. But remember that neither the leech nor the leech's brain is the prize: the prize is the journey. Ours is an holistic goal. To adopt the technique of the nineteenth century English novelist, Anthony Trollope: "Reader, chart your own way!".1 Let us go! 1 Throughout his many novels, Trollope (1815-1882) is noted by literary critics for writing the truth as he perceived it; as the narrator, he occasionally interrupts the flow of text to address the reader directly. viii Table of Contents Preface vi Section 1 : Ethics The Ethics of Computing? 4 Herbert Burkert, Federal Republic of Germany Section 2: Roots, Legitimacy and Ideology Introduction 22 Editors Some Historical Remarks 24 Phillippe Breton, France The Question of the Legitimacy of the Computer: An Epistemological Point of View 31 Romain Laufer, France Computerization Movements and the Mobilization of Support for Computing 62 Rob Kling and Suzanne Iacono, U.S A. ix Table of Contents Section 3: Towards New Cultural Perspectives? Introduction 86 Editors The Cultural Scenery of Information Technology: An Introduction 90 Felix van Rijn, The Netherlands Information Technology in Daily Life: An Assessment of the Full Integration Hypothesis 96 Nicholas P. Vztalari, U.SA. Towards a New Balance in Our Landscapes 113 Paula Goossens, The Netherlands Society, Religions and Information Technology 124 David J. Pullinger, United Kingdom Style as Substance in Educational Computing 145 Sherry Turkle, U.SA. Communication of Knowledge in an Information Society 161 Herbert I. Schiller, U.SA., and Bernard Miege, France Section 4: Politics Introduction 170 Editors The Political Implications of Information Technology: Challenge To Power? 173 Wuliam Dutton, U.SA. Information Technology and Civil Liberties 196 James Michael, United Kingdom, Yves Poullet, Belgium, and Wuhelm Steinmuller, Federal Republic of Gennany Computers and Democracy 215 Vmcent Mosco, Canada Seeking Security Through Technological Means 232 Colin Beardon, United Kingdom X
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