The wave of constrictions in employment that moved somewhat slowly from agriculture to industry and contributed to the decay in the industrial North has now begun to make its way at light speed into the information sectors of the economy … The fact that the information highway is also a global network makes it easier for corporations to acquire the use of highly skilled but less expensive labor in overseas markets … This high-speed data network facilitates a process of pre-employment screening that includes not only credit ratings and criminal records, but also information about health and personal habits … This same superhighway will facilitate the management of labor by means of work assignment and by monitoring and surveillance techniques that build mistrust and contribute … to a level of stress that threatens both health and productivity.
Predictor: Gandy, Oscar H.
Prediction, in context:In this 1994 article in the Phi Kappa Phi journal National Forum, Professor Oscar Gandy uses L. Frank Baum’s story of “Oz” as the underlying metaphoric hook for his concerns about the Internet. Gandy writes: ”The collection, storage, and use of personal information by means of a relatively primitive information network have implications for a life in an Information Age that are a stark departure from the bright lights and glitter of the Emerald City. The wave of constrictions in employment that moved somewhat slowly from agriculture to industry and contributed to the decay in the industrial North has now begun to make its way at light speed into the information sectors of the economy. What is euphemistically referred to as ‘downsizing’ is the product of earlier investments in information technology, principally computers and ‘intelligent systems’ that have automated many of the decisions that white-collar workers and middle managers used to make. The fact that the information highway is also a global network makes it easier for corporations to acquire the use of highly skilled but less expensive labor in overseas markets. Indian software engineers in New Delhi work for a fraction of the wages of their competitors in Austin, Texas, and satellite links all but eliminate the costs of travel. Workers in parts of the service sector with jobs that cannot be so easily exported, such as those providing food and transportation, will find that the information superhighway still represents an impending threat. This high-speed data network facilitates a process of pre-employment screening that includes not only credit ratings and criminal records, but also information about health and personal habits thought to indicate a higher level of risk to an employer. This same superhighway will facilitate the management of labor by means of work assignment and by monitoring and surveillance techniques that build mistrust and contribute somewhat paradoxically to a level of stress that threatens both health and productivity.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Employment
Name of publication: National Forum
Title, headline, chapter name: The Information Superhighway as the Yellow Brick Road
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?Did=000000005878683&Fmt=3&Deli=1&Mtd=1&Idx=5&Sid=6&RQT=309
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney