The prediction, in brief:

I doubt our offices will be replaced by minions working from home. The lack of meetings and personal interaction isolates workers and reduces loyalty. Nor is a house necessarily an efficient place to work, what with the constant interruptions and lack of office fixtures. Perhaps it’ll work for jobs where one never has to meet anyone else, like data entry or telephone sales. What a way to turn a home into a prison.

Predictor: Stoll, Clifford

Prediction, in context:

In his 1995 book “Silicon Snake Oil,” writer Clifford Stoll shares his take on the Internet’s future implications:”Networks hold out the promise of telecommuting. One day, many of us will be able to work at home, any hour of the day or night. We’ll save gas, have closer family ties, and have a happier workplace. Oh? I doubt our offices will be replaced by minions working from home. The lack of meetings and personal interaction isolates workers and reduces loyalty. Nor is a house necessarily an efficient place to work, what with the constant interruptions and lack of office fixtures. Perhaps it’ll work for jobs where one never has to meet anyone else, like data entry or telephone sales. What a way to turn a home into a prison.”

Biography:

Clifford Stoll was an astrophysicist who also wrote the influential books “Silicon Snake Oil” (1995) and “The Cuckoo’s Egg.” A long-time network user, Stoll made “Silicon Snake Oil” his platform for finding fault with the Internet hype of the early 1990s. He pointed out the pitfalls of a completely networked society and offered arguments in opposition to the hype. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Economic structures

Subtopic: Telecommuting

Name of publication: Silicon Snake Oil

Title, headline, chapter name: An Amalgam of Popular Fictions About the Internet, Including Brief Trips to China and The City of No Illusions

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 30

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Tencer, Elizabeth L.