The kind of future the NII helps shape depends, in part, on the visions it is intended to achieve and the strategies used to implement those goals. Industry spokespeople describe the NII as a vehicle for movies on demand, home shopping, and sit-com reruns, with the “serious” content provided by endless infomercials. Clinton Administration liberals stress the NII’s educational importance of allowing access to endless information, as well as its potential to spur private sector economic development. Many cybernauts are most enthused about the creation of virtual communities … To those of us who see the NII as a critical tool for the revitalization of democracy, the strengthening of neighborhoods, the release of grass-roots cultural creativity, and the revival of mutual aid, these visions are a painful warning of opportunities we hope are not yet lost.
Predictor: Miller, Steven E.
Prediction, in context:The August 1994 issue of The Network Observer, an online newsletter, carries an article titled “Building the NII from the Bottom Up: A Strategy for Working Through Local Organizations” by Steven E. Miller of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility national board. Miller writes:”The coming National Information Infrastructure (NII) will lay the foundation for – and thereby help shape – new forms of production, consumption, culture, social interaction, and citizenship. The kind of future the NII helps shape depends, in part, on the visions it is intended to achieve and the strategies used to implement those goals. Industry spokespeople describe the NII as a vehicle for movies on demand, home shopping, and sit-com reruns, with the ‘serious’ content provided by endless infomercials. Clinton Administration liberals stress the NII’s educational importance of allowing access to endless information, as well as its potential to spur private sector economic development. Many cybernauts are most enthused about the creation of virtual communities and the coming together of the global village. But for those of us whose pleasure in the technology is matched by a growing concern about the tendency of the NII to further divide our society (and the world) into ‘haves’ and ‘have nots,’ these visions – and the NII implementation strategies they imply – are woefully inadequate. To those of us who see the NII as a critical tool for the revitalization of democracy, the strengthening of neighborhoods, the release of grass-roots cultural creativity, and the revival of mutual aid, these visions are a painful warning of opportunities we hope are not yet lost.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: The Network Observer
Title, headline, chapter name: Building the NII from the Bottom Up: A Strategy for Working Through Local Organizations
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/tno/april-1994.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne