Advocates of electronic democracy fail to see the difference between the inundation of information and reflective political exchange. And computer advocates fail to see the broader issues of manipulation and loss of political accountability as problems; to them, the technology appears to enhance individual choice.
Predictor: Nelkin, Dorothy
Prediction, in context:The 1997 book “Computers, Ethics, and Society,” edited by M. David Ermann, Mary B. Williams and Michele S. Shauf, carries a reprint of Spring 1994, National Forum: The Phi Kappa Phi Journal article “Information Technologies Could Threaten Privacy, Freedom, and Democracy” by Dorothy Nelkin. Nelkin asserts that Americans are less protective of their privacy rights than they claim to be. She writes: ”Advocates of electronic democracy fail to see the difference between the inundation of information and reflective political exchange. And computer advocates fail to see the broader issues of manipulation and loss of political accountability as problems; to them, the technology appears to enhance individual choice.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Democracy
Name of publication: Computers, Ethics, and Society (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Information Technologies Could Threaten Privacy, Freedom, and Democracy
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 25
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne