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The Information Society

Role of Information

For the foreseeable future, information technology will continue to undergo revolutionary changes. The microprocessor-an inexpensive, mass-produced computer on a chip-will become ubiquitous in the home and office-not only in the easily identifiable form of the personal computer or word processor, but also as a component of numerous other products, from automobiles to washing machines and thermostats. High-speed, low-cost communication links will be available in such forms as two-way interactive cable, direct broadcast from satellites, and computer-enhanced telephone networks. New video technologies such as video disks and high-resolution television will be available. These technologies will be integrated to form new and unexpected types of information products and services, such as videotex and online information retrieval systems that can be provided over telephone or air waves directly to the home.

It is impossible to predict which of these technologies and services will succeed in the competition for consumer dollars, or which will appeal to particular markets. It is, however, reasonable to conclude that they will radically affect many aspects of the way society generates, obtains, uses, and disseminates information in work and leisure.

The growing importance of information itself drives and is driven by these rapid technological changes. Until a few decades ago, the information industry—that industry directly involved with producing and selling information and information technology-was relatively small in economic terms. It is now becoming a major component of the U.S. economy. While most economists still talk about the traditional economic sectors-extractive, manufacturing, and servicesome now have begun to define and explore a fourth, the information sector. One analysis has shown that this new sector, if defined broadly, already accounts for over 60 percent of the economic activity of the United States.

Many firms involved directly with information are large and growing. Two of the largest corporations in the world, AT&T and IBM, principally manufacture information products and provide information services. Moreover, business in general is beginning to treat information as a factor of production that takes its place beside the conventional factors of land, labor, and capital. In addition, the Government is beginning to treat information as an important element of national security. While defense officials have always been concerned about the disclosure of military information-such as troop movements or weapons design-they are now also concerned about the international leakage of more general U.S. scientific and technical information that other countries could conceivably use to pursue economic or military goals that are in contrast to our own.

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In addition to serving as an economic good, access to information is becoming increasingly important for individuals to function in society effectively as citizens, consumers, and participants in political processes. Relations with government at all levels are becoming more complex-whether they involve dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, applying for social benefits and services, or seeking protection from real or perceived bureaucratic abuse. Individuals are confronted with the need to evaluate more sophisticated choices and to understand their rights and responsibilities under the laws and regulations intended to protect them in the marketplace.

Information Technologies

The rapid evolution of the following technologies in the last few decades has shaped the information revolution:

Cable.-Cable systems-wherein data and programs are transmitted over a wire rather than through airwaves-are growing rapidly. The newer systems offer more channels, and some offer two-way communication.

Satellite Communication.-Satellites have stimulated development of new types of television networks to serve cable subscribers and earth station owners with specialized programing.

Digital Telephone Network.-The shift to digital transmission will allow telephone lines to carry more information at higher speed and with greater accuracy, providing better linkage of information between computer terminals.

Broadcast Technologies.-Some distribution technologies in the entertainment market may also have important potential educational uses. For one, the direct broadcast satellite can transmit a program directly to a home or office, bypassing a cable system. For another, low-power stations, which restrict transmission to a limited geographical range, provide a low entry cost to licensees and are subject to less regulation than are traditional broadcast stations.

Computers.-The design and uses of computers have advanced to the point where there is now a mass consumer market for computers and computer software. Moreover, networks that link privately owned computers have expanded access to information. Desktop computers are becoming more common in the home, the small business, and formal educational settings. The use of hand-held computers, cheaper and more portable than desktop computers, has also increased. Along with computer development have come advances in the interface between humans and computers-input/output technology. Input technology is the process of putting information into the computer-either by typing it, speaking to the computer, or showing the computer pictures. Developments in output technology, or "peripherals," are occurring in the areas of low-cost printers, graphics (particularly color graphics), and voice.

Storage Technology.-Data programs are stored on a variety of media for use in the computer: silicon chips, floppy disks, and hard disks. Improvements are being made in such technology for both large and small computers.

Video Technology.-Significant developments in several areas of video technology are likely in this decade. Video cassette recorders are already important consumer devices. The filmless camera, which combines video and computer technology to "write" a picture on a very small, reusable floppy disk, may soon be available.

Video Disks.-Resembling a phonograph record, a disk that stores television programing is of considerable interest to educators. It is durable, inexpensive to produce, and capable of storing a large amount of data and programs.

Information Services.-Several of the aforementioned information technologies are now being integrated into information systems. For example, several countries now use the existing television broadcast medium to bring information services to homes and offices. Using a teletext system, the user can select a page for special viewing as it is transmitted in segments over the air. In a videotex system the user can preselect a page from the central system for immediate viewing. Closely related to videotex are the information networks that provide owners of desktop computers and terminals with access to computer and data services and to one another over communication networks. Through electronic conferencing, geographically separated individuals can participate in meetings. Variations include audio conferencing, which uses telephone lines; video conferencing, which supplements the voice connection with television images; and computer conferencing, which involves transmitting messages through a central computer that then distributes them as requested.

Impacts on Institutions

Impacts from the information revolution are being felt by government at all levels and by the military, industry, labor unions, and nonprofit service institutions. Traditional services provided by these institutions now overlap in new ways and offer a wide variety of new services based on information technology. For example, firms as diverse as investment houses and retail stores now compete with banks by providing a variety of financial services. Banks, on the other hand, are beginning to compete with computer service bureaus in providing more general on-line information services to businesses and homes.

The U.S. Postal Service, along with Congress and a variety of Federal executive and regulatory agencies, is considering the degree to which it should compete with private telecommunications firms in the provision of electronic mail services. Large computer firms such as IBM are moving toward direct competition with traditional telecommunication common carriers such as AT&T for the provision of infor

mation services. Telephone companies may offer "electronic yellow pages" that could rival the classified advertising business of newspapers.

Those institutions principally concerned with the collection, storage, or transfer of information will feel the greatest effects. They include both private sector firms-in fields such as publishing, entertainment, and communications—and public or nonprofit organizations such as libraries, museums, and schools. How they handle their product-information-may differ from the handling of tangible goods by other institutions because information has characteristics that differentiate it from tangible goods. For example, information can be reproduced easily and relatively inexpensively. It can be transported instantly worldwide and presumably can be transferred without affecting its original ownership. Thus, copyright or other forms of protection for intellectual property-data bases, programs, or chip designs-is important to the growth of the information industry.

While the business of selling information has always existed in some form-e.g., book publishing, newspapers, or broadcasting—the growth of this sector and its movement into electronic forms of publishing will create conflicts with traditional societal attitudes about information. The concept of information as a public good whose free exchange is basic to the functioning of society is inherent in the first amendment to the Constitution and underlies the establishment of public libraries and schools. This concept conflicts with the market view of information, which recognizes that there are inherent costs in the provision of information. Adopting new information technologies will entail extra costs that must be borne somehow by the users of those technologies.

The conflict between the view of information as a market good and the view of it as a "public good" affects public institutions in a number of ways. Public nonprofit institutions find themselves increasingly in competition with private profitmaking firms that offer the same or similar services. Institutions such as libraries, schools, and museums are beginning to feel pressure to incorporate both nonprofit and income-generating offerings in their own mix of services. To the extent that previously free or very low-cost and widely available information services such as education move into the private marketplace, access to them may become limited, either because of their cost or because of their restricted technological availability. Periodicals previously available at newsstands, for example, may be available in the future only via computer or video disk.

New Needs for Education and Training

The information revolution places new demands on individuals, changing what they must know and what skills they must have to participate fully in modern society. It may also be increasing the social

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