t’s inevitable that the net will continue to grow, to get bigger, to get more complex, to become the dominant force in the culture. That is inevitable. What’s not inevitable is what you choose to do about it … You can be like the Amish. Noble, but marginal.
Predictor: Kelly, Kevin
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 HarperÕs Magazine article, four experts on the impact of modern computing and telecommunications technology debate the effects of such technology on modern society. The article includes comments by Kevin Kelly, the executive editor of Wired magazine and the author of “Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-biological Civilization,” published by Addison-Wesley, an excerpt from which appeared in the May 1994 issue of Harper’s Magazine. Kelly says: ÒIt’s inevitable that the net will continue to grow, to get bigger, to get more complex, to become the dominant force in the culture. That is inevitable. What’s not inevitable is what you choose to do about it … You can be like the Amish. Noble, but marginal.Ó
Biography:Kevin Kelly was the author of the book “Out of Control” and the first executive editor of the highly influential Wired magazine. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: General, Overarching Remarks
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Harper's Magazine
Title, headline, chapter name: What Are We Doing On-line? A Debate on the Social Consequences of Online Communications
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 35 - 46
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne