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All technological change is a trade-off; a Faustian
Bargain.
The greater wonders in technology, the greater
will be its negative consequences.
(e.g. Automobiles (and their obvious advantages) have major disadvantages
(pollution, etc.)
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New technology will always come with a high
cost.
Culture always pays a price for technology.
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Advantages and disadvantages are never distributed evenly
among the population. (Benefits some, harms others)
There are always winners and losers.
 Winners (e.g. Computer companies and multinational corporations who are
enthusiastic about computer technology and benefit from it.)
 Losers (e.g. Common workers with computer access means that: They are
more easily tracked and controlled, etc.)
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Winners speak constantly of the “Age of Information” (The
more info we have, the better we will be solving significant
problems) but has it helped?
 We know how to produce food to feed every child on the planet, but how is
it that many of them starve?
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Embedded in to technology there is a powerful idea,
sometimes two or three.
Computer person values information, not knowledge.
Every technology has a philosophy which is given
expression in how the technology makes people use their
minds.
So the third idea is the sum and substance of what Marshall
McLuhan meant when he coined the famous sentence,
“The medium is the message.”
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Technological change is not additive; it is
ecological
The consequences of technological change are
always vast, often unpredictable and largely
irreversible.
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Media tend to become mythic.
Therefore it is always dangerous because it is
accepted “as-is” and not easily susceptible to
modification or control.
Best way to view technology is as a strange
intruder.
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People believe strongly in the benefits of
technology.
Large majorities believe that science and
technology make lives healthier, easier, and
more comfortable.
Computer’s impact on society = positive.
However computers have not improved life.
(75%)
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A majority of Americans believe the
government…
 should help low-income people get access to
computers.
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Others say the government should help lowincome children.
Most agree that the government…
 Needs to regulate specific contents (e.g. pornography
and bomb-making information)
 Should “do something” about strangers making contact
with children.
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Virtualization represents a first-class tool.
Example
 Virtual memory systems to replace a piece of hardware
with another.
 Providing single API to all I/O devices.
 Replace a network with a private network, allowing
users to behave as if they were in an Internet of their
own.
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We create virtual communities of scientists
with virtual laboratories and computing
resources dedicated to supporting “in silico”
experiments. (replacing in-vitro experiments.)
Essentially having virtualized natural systems.
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The convergence of computer games and the
movie industry signifies that computing is a
wholly new discipline.
The world of entertainment imposes no natural
or artificial constraints on what a system may
do.