The ethical, legal, and social implications of this technology are paralleled by those arising from discoveries in molecular biology. Some of these issues will probably be worked out in the marketplace, some in the courts. As in other domains, government monitoring and possibly more active involvement may become necessary. More important, the courts unquestionably will need guidance in issues that demand a high level of technological knowledge, but are not simply technological problems with technological fixes. And there will certainly be a need to increase public awareness of many complex issues.
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: ”Core issues will revolve around ability to access information, the cost of that access, and respect for intellectual property, privacy, security, and information integrity. Triggering conditions may include the increased ability to collect and collate data on all aspects of our lives and the increased ability to cause harm by altering public and private records. Technological fixes to these problems are not in sight. The ethical, legal, and social implications of this technology are paralleled by those arising from discoveries in molecular biology. Some of these issues will probably be worked out in the marketplace, some in the courts. As in other domains, government monitoring and possibly more active involvement may become necessary. More important, the courts unquestionably will need guidance in issues that demand a high level of technological knowledge, but are not simply technological problems with technological fixes. And there will certainly be a need to increase public awareness of many complex issues … The goals of an ELSI [Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications] component to the NII would be as follows: 1. Address and anticipate the implications for individuals and society of the NII; 2. Develop policy options to assure that the information is used for the benefit of the individuals and society. 3. Enhance and expand public and professional education that is sensitive to individual rights and responsibilities associated with the NII. Examples of such efforts would be workshops, panels to frame policy options, training grants for those with a technological background to acquire training in ethics and law (and vice versa), studies about how current opportunities for abuse are being exploited, public-education programs, and pilot programs for introducing the study of such issues in the schools.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Ethics/Values
Name of publication: Realizing the Information Future: The Internet and Beyond
Title, headline, chapter name: Flow of Information
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