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Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices
Charles Dunlop and Rob Kling (Eds), Academic Press, Inc: San Diego, 1991.
ISBN 0122243560
. Paperback. £26.00
This is a weighty book, in several senses of the word. It contains over fifty papers by many authors on subjects ranging from 'The strange case of the electronic lover' to 'Procedures for the enforcement of the ACM code of professional conduct'. The papers are helpfully arranged in seven parts each of which is headed by an introduction by the editors, highlighting the major issues in the section and outlining the papers included. This makes it easier to read than might be expected from such a diverse book. It is refreshing that in their introductions the editors are willing to criticize as well as compliment the contributors. They also, usefully, take time to explain fully any philosophical or historical concepts used. The first part of the book, entitled 'the dreams of technological utopianism' is given a particularly thorough introduction by the editors, who provide a history of the idea of Utopia as well as warnings against the wilder dreams of its proponents. The papers include an attempt by John Sculley, chairman of the board of the Apple Computer Corporation, to argue that print technology catalysed the Renaissance, and computer systems based on hypermedia, simulation and artificial intelligence applied to education are the right way to forge a new community of ideas. As Dunlop and Kling point out, 'such pieces excite hope by linking computerization to positive social ideals anchored in a vastly oversimplified history'; in this case there may have been a financial incentive. In sharp contrast, Wendell Berry provides a small treatise on why he is not going to buy a computer, the pithy common sense of which is slightly marred by the realization that this...