Sinopsis
Most of us take technological change for granted. In the past two decades alone, we have witnessed the emergence of exciting new technologies, including cell phones, MP3 players, digital photography, email, and the World Wide Web. There is good reason to say we are living in the Information Age. Never before have so many people had such easy access to information. The two principal catalysts for the Information Age have been low-cost computers and high-speed communication networks (Figure 1.1). Even in a society accustomed to change, the rate at which computers and communication networks have transformed our lives is breathtaking.
In 1950, there were no more than a handful of electronic digital computers in the world. Today we are surrounded by devices containing embedded computers. We rely upon microprocessors to control our heating and cooling systems, microwaves, cell phones, elevators, and a multitude of other devices we use every day. Thanks to microprocessors, our automobiles get better gas mileage and produce less pollution. On the other hand, the days of the do-it-yourself tune-up are gone. It takes a mechanic with computerized diagnostic equipment to work on a modern engine.
In 1990, few people other than college professors used email. Today more than a billion people around the world have email accounts.We consider people without access to email as deprived, even though most of us also complain about the amount of spam we receive.
TheWorldWideWeb was still being designed in 1990; today it contains more than a trillion pages and makes possible extraordinarily valuable information retrieval systems. Even grade school children are expected to gather information from the Web when writing their reports.However, many parents worry that theirWeb-surfing children may be exposed to pornographic images or other inappropriate material.
May Swenson has vividly described our ambivalent feelings toward technology. In her poem “Southbound on the Freeway,” an alien hovers above an expressway and watches the cars move along . The alien notes “soft shapes” inside the automobiles and wonders, “are they their guts or their brains?” It’s fair to ask: Do we drive technology, or does technology drive us?
Our relationship with technology is complicated.We create technology and choose to adopt it. However, once we have adopted a technological device, it can change us and how we relate to other people and our environment.
The choice to use a new technology can affect us physically. For example, anecdotal evidence from physicians and physical therapists reveals that the growing popularity of laptop computers is increasing the number of people suffering from wrist, neck, shoulder, and back pain. That’s not surprising, given the awkward places many people use laptop computers, such as traditional college lecture halls with cramped seating and tiny writing surfaces. A chiropractor remarks, “Have you seen pictures of kids using computers? They lie on their stomachs on the floor and work on their elbows. That’s a prescription for a lifetime of neck pain, back pain, and lower back pain” .
Our use of a technology may also affect us mentally. For example, studies with macaque monkeys suggest that when we satisfy our hunger for quick access to information through our use ofWeb browsers, Twitter, and texting, neurons inside our brains release dopamine, producing a desire to seek out additional information, causing further releases of dopamine, and so on, which is why it can be difficult to break away from these activities.
Content
- Catalysts for Change
- Introduction to Ethics
- Networked Communications
- Intellectual Property
- Information Privacy
- Privacy and the Government
- Computer and Network Security
- Computer Reliability
- Professional Ethics
- Work and Wealth
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