There is a clear opportunity for the federal government to act as a catalyst for wise development of the NII and as an arbiter among the various interests that must be balanced for the NII to serve a broad array of national needs. The federal government must effect a delicate balance between the free-for-all chaos likely to result from a hands-off posture and the overcontrolled bureaucratic process that can result from being too heavy-handed.
Predictor: National Research Council
Prediction, in context:In 1994, the NRENaissance Committee, appointed by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, produced a special report titled “Realizing the Information Future: The Internet and Beyond.” Among the committee members were Internet pioneers Leonard Kleinrock, David Clark, David Farber, Lawrence Landweber and Robert Kahn. The committee’s goal was to “study issues raised by the shift to a larger, more truly national networking capability.” Among its statements about the blossoming of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) is this: ”The NII, as envisioned by industry, public-interest advocates, the research and education communities, the administration, and this committee, is a far broader and more exciting concept that promises to alter and enhance activities across society and the economy. As yet, however, no coherent program or plan of execution exists for the NII. It is necessary now to lay the proper groundwork for construction of a national resource whose complexity and significance for the nation for decades to come are only partly captured in the oft-used term ‘Information Superhighway.’ There is a clear opportunity for the federal government to act as a catalyst for wise development of the NII and as an arbiter among the various interests that must be balanced for the NII to serve a broad array of national needs. The federal government must effect a delicate balance between the free-for-all chaos likely to result from a hands-off posture and the overcontrolled bureaucratic process that can result from being too heavy-handed.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Role of Govt./Industry
Name of publication: Realizing the Information Future: The Internet and Beyond
Title, headline, chapter name: Paying the Price
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://stills.nap.edu/html/rtif/
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney