According to the U.S. Education Department, nearly half of the adult population has difficulty using complex information. "So much of this technology is based on very difficult and complex information," Jarvis said. "How can we expect that 50 percent to be very much involved?" She noted that automatic teller machines became popular only after an easy interface and a large, reliable network were available. "In much the same way, America Online has experienced enormous growth," she said, "I think in large part because its interface is easier to use than those of some other services."
Cost is a major concern. Not everyone can afford a high-end computer and modem. "Libraries are expected to carry the load of providing access to the Net for working-class and low-income people, nonwhite families, and immigrants," Jarvis said, "yet school and library budgets are being slashed." The goal must be to provide access to information, not merely access to unwieldy technology.
To reduce the dangers, she recommended keeping a close eye not only on Congress, but also on state and local officials. Regulatory rate hearings, school and library budget meetings, and the like will become increasingly important for the future of the NII.
"It's also important to begin a real outreach effort to minority communities," Jarvis said. "So many feel that they do not understand what this is all about, and there's no one to show them how to become involved." Government officials and nonprofit organizations can "make a huge difference" in this area.
Beyond unequal distribution of the NII's benefits, Jarvis echoed Sclove in suggesting that the technology may exert adverse effects. As people work, learn, shop, bank, and vote without leaving the house, interaction among citizens will decline. In addition, different groups may use the technology differently, just as black and white viewers often choose different TV programs. As a result, she said, "the divisions that we see in society may increase."
Godwin, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, disagreed. Race and socioeconomic class disappear in online discussions, he said. "There is a sense in which the vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.--a world in which we're judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character--is being fulfilled."
Another speaker, Philip Agre of the University of California, also raised a note of dissent. "Bandwidth is way cheap, and it's going to get cheaper and cheaper," he said. "The important thing is that the architecture of the infrastructure be made such that everyone has a symmetrical possibility of access. The cable system is the antithesis of this; the telephone is the model of it." Ensuring that everyone has access to the NII, he said, is largely an issue of architecture.
I've only been using the Internet for about a year now, and I had the advantage of learning in a university setting. I'm wondering about those who still find it difficult to program their VCRs. To expect that these very complicated interfaces will mean a new way for them to relate to other citizens--I just don't see that happening.
Sonia R. Jarvis
Research Professor
National Center for Communication Studies
The George Washington University
