Our determinations of policy and regulation governing the operation of these industries should be determined by first making explicit the long-term goals and objectives of networking technology within a societal context. What are the benefits that this technology can offer the society in the future? What are the dangers to our democratic values posed by the technology? How do our decisions aid in encouraging the realization of the benefits and the avoiding of the dangers? … We need to be anticipatory as opposed to being reactive … Current regulatory mechanisms may not be the ones that will allow us to realize some of the more desirable benefits of networking technology.
Predictor: Hiltz, Starr Roxanne
Prediction, in context:In a 1992 paper they presented at a workshop titled “Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities” for the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, researchers Starr Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff say: ”We are entering an exciting period where the old boundaries and understandings of industry sectors such as computers, communications, publishing, finance are going to see dramatic changes. Our determinations of policy and regulation governing the operation of these industries should be determined by first making explicit the long-term goals and objectives of networking technology within a societal context. What are the benefits that this technology can offer the society in the future? What are the dangers to our democratic values posed by the technology? How do our decisions aid in encouraging the realization of the benefits and the avoiding of the dangers? If we understand this normative exploration of the future of the technology, then the policies and regulations to govern the evolution of the technology become a natural consequence of this understanding. We need to be anticipatory as opposed to being reactive. Finally, current regulatory mechanisms may not be the ones that will allow us to realize some of the more desirable benefits of networking technology.”
Biography:Starr Roxanne Hiltz, the co-author of a seminal book about the electronic frontier, “The Network Nation: Human Communication Via Computer” (MIT Press), was a professor of computer and information science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the author of many Internet research studies. In 1994, Hiltz received the “Pioneer Award” from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for her “significant and influential contributions to computer-based communications and to the empowerment of individuals using computers.” She was among the first to note that computer conferencing could form the basis of new kinds of communities. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: November 1, 1992
Topic of prediction: General, Overarching Remarks
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities Computer science and Telecommunications Board National Research Council (NRC)
Title, headline, chapter name: A Normative View of Networking Applications
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.njit.edu/~turoff/Papers/dcgov.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney