There are massive have/have not discrepancies in the use of language per se. I believe that a similar dynamic applies to so-called computer literacy. Giving everbody a free computer and modem wouldn’t change this basal reality very much.
Predictor: Sterling, Bruce
Prediction, in context:A 1995 e-mail interview with science fiction writer and cyberspace commentator Bruce Sterling for Telecommunications International included the following exchange: TI: “Is widespread communications automatically a good thing for society? Has its democratizing influence been overplayed?… Sterling: “No [it’s not automatically good for society]. Yes [its democratizing influence has been overplayed]. The massive have/have not discrepancies in access to computation are real enough, but they’re rather less massive than the conventional time-honored discrepancies in food, transportation, health care, shelter, clothing, money and sex. Even with 98 percent socially guaranteed literacy in some countries, some people can use language effectively and others can’t; some read and some don’t; some belong to the chattering classes and some are sunk in blissful obscurity. There are massive have/have not discrepancies in the use of language per se. I believe that a similar dynamic applies to so-called computer literacy. Giving everbody a free computer and modem wouldn’t change this basal reality very much.”
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: September 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Digital Divide
Name of publication: Telecommunications
Title, headline, chapter name: Dropping Anchor in Cyberspace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Vol. 29, Issue 9, Page 115 ISSN: 00402494
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney