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Technology Could Transform Technology ….
Bearing in mind that this was written in 1982 … (10 years or so before Tim gave us the world wide web) … pretty amazing predictions ….
The home will double as a place of employment, with men and women conducting much of their work at the computer terminal. This will affect both the architecture and location of the home. It will also blur the distinction between places of residence and places of business, with uncertain effects on zoning, travel patterns and neighborhoods.
Home-based shopping will permit consumers to control manufacturing directly, ordering exactly what they need for ‘’production on demand.’’
There will be a shift away from conventional workplace and school socialization. Friends, peer groups and alliances will be determined electronically, creating classes of people based on interests and skills rather than age and social class.
A new profession of information ‘’brokers’’ and ‘’managers’’ will emerge, serving as ‘’gatekeepers,’’ monitoring politicians and corporations and selectively releasing information to interested parties.
The ‘’extended family’’ might be recreated if the elderly can support themselves through electronic homework, making them more desirable to have around. Political Power Shift
The blurring of lines between home and work, the report stated, will raise difficult issues, such as working hours. The new technology, it suggested, may force the development of a new kind of business leader. ‘’Managing the complicated communication in networks between office and home may require very different styles than current managers exhibit,’’ the report concluded.
The study also predicted a much greater diversity in the American political power structure. ‘’Videotex might mean the end of the twoparty system, as networks of voters band together to support a variety of slates - maybe hundreds of them,’’ it said.
Full Article :: STUDY SAYS TECHNOLOGY COULD TRANSFORM SOCIETY
Passed on - with thanks to :: NYTimes.com