Introduction
In the view of its advocates, the national information
infrastructure (NII) will make Americans smarter, happier, healthier, and
wealthier. To these enthusiasts--a singularly nonpartisan group, ranging from
Timothy Leary to Newt Gingrich--networked computers constitute a transformative
technology that will usher in a marvelous new age.
To be sure, a few skeptics have grumbled about the "information superhypeway,"
contending that the advocates are overstating the benefits and the speed of
deployment. But on the whole, not much has been said about the NII's potential
downside: how it may impair some interests and some institutions in society,
how it may widen gaps between groups, how it may imperil long-settled civil
liberties, and how it may otherwise deliver costs alongside its benefits--as,
indeed, most technologies do.
In convening the meeting summarized in this report, Annenberg Visiting Fellow
Edwin Diamond and I hoped for a thoughtful, balanced counterweight to the
dominant giddy optimism. We were not disappointed. Speakers offered nuanced,
cautious visions of the NII's possible downside. Some suggested that the
technologies may harm society by, for instance, fraying the bonds of community
and exacerbating inequality. One speaker treated the technologies as beneficial
in themselves, but worried that the government may prevent citizens from fully
enjoying the benefits. Still other speakers spoke of the inevitable corporate
winners and losers. Nearly everyone noted that the NII will provide substantial
social benefits as well as costs.
We believe that the negative possibilities deserve attention. Perhaps many
harms can be ameliorated, even eliminated. Even if not, we ought to proceed
with open eyes toward our networked future.
Stephen Bates
Senior Fellow
Thirty-five years ago, I was a reporter covering national defense and the
then-infant space program for a leading national newsmagazine. My editors could
never get enough of my stuff--covers, take-outs, special issues, a dedicated
weekly department just for the Space Age. After a while I noticed that my
magazine and my magazine's competitors sold a lot of advertising pages to
defense contractors, rocket-makers, and other Space Age companies. I flash back
to those days while noticing that the newsmagazines and newspapers once again
carry ad page after ad page about all the really cool products, and of course I
see pages and pages of coverage about this really cool life in cyberspace. I
want to put on the table the commercial impulses behind the hype. And, by the
way, what ever happened to the Space Age?
Edwin Diamond
Visiting Fellow
Annenberg Washington Program
