Ideas, culture, opinions, and attitudes are continuously evolving. Some people embrace these changes, others denounce and aim to negate them with calls for a return to “simpler” times (an ironic view, since most new technologies are created to simplify existing tasks), while many people quietly integrate change with old routines, redefining their lives with little, if any, reflection. This pattern is not unique to the present “information revolution."

Our world has always been in transition.

There has never in the history of humanity been a time without social and intellectual evolution. There may have been a few pauses throughout time where progress has been stalled for short periods (by our standards and definitions),  but historically, change has been constant. From early humanoids, then early ancient civilizations, through the Ages of Bronze, Iron, Agriculture, Science, Industry, and now Information, innovation and social organization have resulted in biological, social, and technological evolution. A homeostatic existence has never been good enough.

Our world will continue to change.

The world is presently in a state of accelerating, and possibly unprecedented, change. These are transitory times, and we are experiencing a paradigm shift from an industrial-based to an information-based society. The rapidity of this redefinition has caused many people to question its benefits, while others have embraced and encouraged the emerging new reality.
This paper is an examination of the works and views of selected prominent authors of  the popular and academic press for insight into how this technological change has been affecting and will alter our lives. Some of these scientists, theoreticians, culturists, and authors embrace technology, others despise it. Will technology be the Holy Grail that leads to the end of global suffering or will its negative impact lead to the demise of the social world as we know it? This paper will critically examine the criticisms and warnings of the “Techno-Pessimists” as well as the dreams and extollments of the “Techno-Utopians”.  It will conclude with an examination of the importance of having both of these camps in the technocultural arena.
 
Popular Versus Academic Press
Over the past decade our schools, workplaces, and homes have been inundated with computers, faxes, email, and other information technologies.  Likewise, academia has generated volumes of research, commentary, and opinion on how these technologies are changing us, and the world we live in. Predictably, new print-based academic journals were founded to provide forums for researchers to exchange ideas and findings (e.g., Computers in the Schools, Journal of Educational Computing Research, Technos). These journals contain hundreds of specialized research articles examining computers, technology, and education. Unfortunately, the insights and findings are only disseminated by academics. These papers are rarely, if ever, read by the general public due to the limited accessibility of university libraries and high cost of personal subscriptions. Recently, accessibility to academic research has been somewhat improved by the online availability of numerous  journals devoted to technoculture and education that have surfaced on the World Wide Web (e.g., Speed, Kairos, NETFUTURES, Computer-Mediated Communication). The online publication of research in this medium has allowed millions of Internet users to easily access and read the latest articles from their homes, libraries, and schools.

Paralleling the increase in institutional research and academic journals devoted to technoculture over the past decade, the volume of books about computing and technoculture published by the mass market industry has skyrocketed. These books do find their way to the bookshelves of the general public more so than the articles of academic journals. Mass market books are aimed toward the consumer and their creators have two goals – the publishers want to profit from their investment, and the authors want readers to think about their intellectual positions presented in the writing. Culture is global, societal, and communal – it affects everyone.  It is for these reasons that I believe that mass market books effectively identify and categorize the current cultural trends that exists in our society. They are written for the general population, not the academics; the “end-users,” not the “programmers”. Mass market books are often compendiums of an author’s academic research, repackaged in a format more accessible to the average reader. Their scope is wide and their audience is large. I am not at all suggesting that the current academic research into technoculture does not address important issues, but for this type of analysis – an examination into the current cultural effects of information technologies – I believe that the mass market publications relate more to the general state of the public’s perceptions than do specialized academic papers.

Three Perspectives on Technology
Broadly categorized, people can be viewed as what I have labeled either “Techno-Pessimists,” “Techno-Utopians,” or “Cautious-Optimists” based on their attitudes toward information technology.

Techno-Pessimists are those that view computers, information technology, and the Internet as negative influences on the lives of individuals and to the stability of society. Generally, Techno-Pessimists lament the loss of physical interaction between individuals (e.g., Stoll, 1995), virtual (as opposed to actual) reality (e.g., Talbott, 1995), the increased pace of our technological world, and question the actual benefits that informational technologies provide.

Techno-Utopians, on the other hand, believe that technology affects individuals and society in a positive manner. These individuals are characterized by their beliefs that information technology can eliminate gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged in society (e.g., Negroponte, 1995), increase productivity in business (e.g., Worzel, 1997), generate opportunities for new social interactions (e.g., Turkle, 1995), improve educational instruction and opportunity (e.g., Logan, 1995; Tapscott, 1998), cultural globalization will make the world a better place to live (e.g., WIRED magazine), and even help us transcend our current physical limitations (e.g., de Kerckhove, 1997; Dewdney, 1998).

Cautious-optimists is the label I have attached to everyone else. These individuals take a balanced, and sometimes critical, view toward technology. They can be likened to the person that walks two steps forward, then one step backward. Frequently, Cautious-Optimists write about their personal experiences and attempt to find meaning in their actions through critical analysis. Cautious-Optimists are generally accepting of new technologies, but are careful to qualify their acceptance with careful regard for possible negative effects as well.

Again, in -The End of Education (1996), Postman criticizes education’s fascination with technology, portraying it as a “god” for children to serve. In the absence of critical analysis this might be the case. However, children today are still instructed by teachers whose function is to help children prepare for social lives within the local and global community. Critical analysis of all types of information is taught in classrooms today. The delivery model is becoming an outdated philosophy of teaching. In its place, inquiry and critical analysis have become major ways for encouraging students to prepare for a lifetime of learning.
To counter the threat of corporate and technological brainwashing, Postman suggests new reasons for learning, new guiding principles by which children should be encouraged to learn. Ironically, Postman’s principles would benefit from the use of information technology in the classroom. For example, not once throughout his description of “The Spaceship Earth” (1996, pp. 93-113) proposal does Postman mention computers or the Internet. He proposes the guiding beacon of local environmentalism and community awareness to give purpose to children’s scholastic endeavors, yet fails to acknowledge the power that computers could add to students’ work. While it may be true that, “a sense of responsibility for the planet is born through the sense of responsibility for one’s own neighborhood” (p. 100), it also can be argued that the reverse is true. He ignores the fact that the Internet enables an interconnectedness between children from all corners of the globe. The possibilities for collaboration and investigation are endless, given the power of the technology that exists today. The opportunities for social change are not, as Postman believes, inhibited by technology – they are enhanced.

While some Techno-Pessimists such as Postman dwell on the negative societal implications of technology, others like Clifford Stoll (1995) examine how technology (specifically, the Internet) is harming individual life experiences. Stoll’s greatest complaint is that the use of computers and networks by individuals reduces the quality of life for all. For Stoll, the greatest part of living is actually experiencing nature and real-live human beings. He argues that life is about the people, places, and things that you experience in the non-virtual, physical, social world. He refuses to consider that online experience can be a worthwhile use of one’s time. It is likely that Sherry Turkle would disagree with his negation of online participation as a worthwhile social activity. She, and others, have studied the differences between online and offline social behaviours extensively and have found that the feelings, the emotions, and the interactions between people separated by, and participating with, technology are very complex (e.g., Rushkoff, 1996; Turkle, 1995).  Sometimes, virtual reality creates more positive affect for an individual than reality itself. We are species of individuals living within a social community. The forms of this social community have changed countless times since the onset of communal social organization, and it may be that we are once again redefining the term “life experience” to include our personal and virtual identities. Critics such as Stoll, through their adherence to current social order and expectations, fail to accept the possibility that society is undergoing a transformational shift that could result in a future that may be greater than the past it has left behind.

Another theme that appears in the writings of  Techno-Utopians is the positive effects of  the growing integration of technology into the individual and collective psyches.  Turkle’s work on virtual identities and online communities (1995) already has been mentioned, and to it we must add the name Christopher Dewdney. Dewdney (1998) proposes that due to technological advances in voice recognition capabilities, computers will render literacy obsolete. He believes that computers with speech recognition will be able to record your text while grammar-checks and spell-checks produce an error-free final copy. In addition, intelligent word processing agents will be developed which mimic your writing style and will edit, enhance, and improve your product. Writing will become the product of human/machine interaction and as technology progresses, the more humans will become part of the machines they created. Assuming that knowledge and computing experience become so ingrained in this emerging culture that they are no longer barriers, the only obstacle to this evolution is the economic disparity between those that can afford the technology and those who can not. Once this hurdle is cleared, we will enter a period of “transhumanity” – the transition between the human and posthuman eras (in fact, it may have already begun). Mind and matter will blend, and humans will have the capability to go farther than genetically possible. In posthumanity, “humans will cease to exist – at least how we currently know them.  But consciousness will certainly not end” (p. 6). (Indeed, the illustration on the dust jacket has subtle 1’s and 0’s patterned on the bare back of a person with his back to the reader which I have only recently noticed. My subconscious must have already accepted Dewdney’s thesis and begun preparing for the inevitable!)

Dewdney’s ideas are grandiose and breathtaking. However, what he fails to do throughout Last Flesh is explain how this will all materialize. Many of his predictions are merely extensions of current realities taken to their extreme limits. Yes, technology is bridging the communicative distance between individuals, and generating a more global consciousness. But to postulate that a “disembodied consciousness” may be achieved as a result of  our shedding our biological vessels reads like science fiction, rather than serious discourse.   While many of Dewdney’s observations are insightful and thought-provoking (e.g. “the distortion of space by media,” p. 129), many fail to generate serious reflection precisely because they come across as purely idealistic aspirations. It often feels as if Dewdney wishes his predictions to become reality, rather than basing them on existing and logical premises.

One reason Techno-Utopians may fail to connect with the general public is that their ideas and positions do not appear to immediately affect the casual reader. Conversely, Cautious-Optimists usually present ideas that appear to be “make sense” – they are connected to the present, while looking to a logical future.  Paul Levinson is a Cautious-Optimist.  He explains that all media become more human in their performance as they evolve: telephones are a more natural way of communicating than Morse code; color photography is more natural than black and white; motion video and computer animation are more natural than static images (1979, as cited in Levinson, 1997). With the Internet, the ability to integrate all of these natural technologies is becoming a reality for many people. By examining work such as Levinson’s, one can observe how technological change is part of a natural process. We need not fear it, but we should be aware of it.

Likewise, Logan (1995) puts forth his thesis that computing is actually a fifth language, following speech, language, mathematics, and science. By detailing the history of our linguistic evolution, Logan eases the reader into a very monumental idea – that information technologies are changing the way we think and communicate. No grandiosity. No hyperbole. Just honest observations and propositions.

Unlike the Techno-Pessimists who seek to denigrate the Internet as a collective time-waster, Cautious-Optimists use the collective voice that is a result of online interactions to seek to understand and improve their personal experiences. One such example is Derrick de Kerckhove, who proposes that,
 

Brian Alger (1997) exemplifies the cautious-optimist perspective when he states that,

Conclusion
Technology, computers, and the Internet have ingrained themselves into our present culture and have transformed the way we live. We are at the leading edge of the information age and are unaware of how it will evolve. We can look to past technological revolutions to get a peek at what might be waiting for us once we pass through this transitional time, but there are no guarantees as to what the future holds.

We need to approach technology with a sense of caution nestled within a cocoon of optimism. Techno-Pessimists are fighting a losing battle in their call to go back to a less technological time, for as Levinson (1997) showed us, there always has been some form of information revolution happening throughout history. Likewise, the dreams of Techno-Utopians are frequently blind to the real world obstacles and conflicts that would need to be overcome in order for their visions to work.

Instead, let us espouse a tempered, optimistic outlook toward information technology and the future. Let us strive to embrace technologies that encourage communication, creativity, innovation, and community. We are all passengers on a journey into the unknown as society seeks to redefine itself, and we have the opportunity to contribute to its shaping.

Only time will determine how we will emerge from our cultural chrysalis.
 

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De Kerckhove, D. (1997). Connected intelligence: The arrival of the web society. Toronto, ON: Somerville House Publishing.

Dewdney, C. (1998). Last flesh: Life in the transhuman era. Toronto, ON: HarperCollins Publishers Limited.

Levinson, P. (1997). The soft edge: A natural history and future of the information revolution. New York: Routledge.

Logan, R. K. (1995). The fifth language: Learning a living in the computer age. Toronto, ON: Stoddart.

Negroponte, N. (1995). Being Digital. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Negroponte, N. (1998). The third shall be first. WIRED, 6.01, 96.

Postman, N. (1992). Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. New York: Vintage Books.

Postman, N. (1996). The end of education: Redefining the value of school. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Rushkoff, D. (1996). Playing the future: How kids’ culture can teach us to thrive in an age of chaos. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Stoll, C. (1995). Silicon snake oil: Second thoughts on the information highway. Toronto, ON: Anchor Books.

Talbott, S. L. (1995). The future does not compute: Transcending the Machines in our midst. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates.

Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York: Touchstone Books.

Worzel, R. (1997). The next twenty years of your life: A personal guide into the year 2017. Toronto, ON: Stoddart.
 
 

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