Computers don’t make any … old free-expression problems go away; on the contrary, they intensify them, and they introduce a bunch of new problems … They’re out there. They’re out there now. In the future, they’re only going to get worse. And there’s going to be a bunch of new problems that nobody’s even imagined.
Predictor: Sterling, Bruce
Prediction, in context:In May 1995, Wired magazine ran an article that was excerpted from a transcript of a speech Bruce Sterling delivered at the High Technology Crime Investigation Association conference in November 1994. Sterling says: ”Computers don’t make any … old free-expression problems go away; on the contrary, they intensify them, and they introduce a bunch of new problems. Problems like software piracy. Encryption. Wire fraud. Interstate transportation of stolen digital property. Free expression on privately owned networks. So-called ‘data-mining’ to invade personal privacy. Employers spying on employee e-mail. Intellectual rights over electronic publications. Computer search-and-seizure practice. Legal liability for network crashes. Computer intrusion. And on and on and on. These are real problems. They’re out there. They’re out there now. In the future, they’re only going to get worse. And there’s going to be a bunch of new problems that nobody’s even imagined. I worry about these issues because people in positions like mine ought to worry about these issues.”
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: November 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Crime/Fraud/Terrorism
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Good Cop, Bad Hacker: Bruce Sterling has a ‘Frank Chat’ with Some Cops
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.05/sterling_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney