They are very afraid of computer hackers, but I think mostly they are afraid of computers … Computers are a challenge and a threat, and they’re changing our society in ways that we can’t control and don’t understand. They’re not to be trusted.
Predictor: Sterling, Bruce
Prediction, in context:In a 1991 interview for Compute!, Darren P. Mckeeman questions author and cyberspace commentator Bruce Sterling about hackers: Mckeeman: “Why do you think the public is so afraid of hackers?” Sterling: “I think they are very afraid of computer hackers, but I think mostly they are afraid of computers. A computer hacker puts the face on the menace that is represented by computers. I mean, I am afraid of computers… I’m not computerphobic; I’m rationally afraid of computers. Computers are a challenge and a threat, and they’re changing our society in ways that we can’t control and don’t understand. They’re not to be trusted.”
Biography:Bruce Sterling, a writer, consultant and science fiction enthusiast, wrote or co-wrote “Schismatrix,” “The Hacker Crackdown” and “The Difference Engine” and edited “Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology.” In the 1990s, he wrote tech articles for Fortune, Harper’s, Details, Whole Earth Review and Wired, where he was a contributing writer from its founding. He published the nonfiction book “Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years” in 2002. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: November 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Cyberpunks/Hackers
Name of publication: Compute
Title, headline, chapter name: Hack to the Future
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
EBSCO Host http://web12.epnet.com/citation.asp?tb=1&_ug=dbs+0%2C1%2C2%2C3%2C4%2C5%2C6%2C7%2C8%2C9%2C10%2C12%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C17%2C18%2C19%2C20%2C21%2C22+ln+en%2Dus+sid+D179097C%2DF2E9%2D480F%2DB416%2D35320F9270CA%40Sessionmgr6+81F8&_us=bs+HACK++TO++THE++FUTURE+ds+HACK++TO++THE++FUTURE+dstb+KS+fh+0+hd+0+hs+0+or+Date+ri+KAAACBUB00364471+sm+KS+so+b+ss+SO+B525&fn=1&rn=1
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Uhlfelder, Evelyn C.