The Analytical Engine Online: Computers and Society

By now, you are now in a position to understand the implications of computational technology to society at large. In this final lab module, you will become a member of (another) virtual community, the users of the Analytical Engine, and will explore some of the computer-related topics confronting educated citizens around the world.

Lab 10.1: Let's Get Virtual

Lab 10.2: Let's Get Real

Predict future trends in computer use, and rank these trends in order of their likelihood
Discuss possible implications of these trends in social, economic, and political terms
Consider the WWW as both a tool and a medium for participating in new social structures

Module Quiz

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References

If you expect to be a participant, rather than a spectator, in the events of the future, it is imperative that you be able to make informed judgements on the uses of technology. In the text part of this module, we identify some of the trends - certain, likely, and unknown - that will be characteristic of computer use in the near future, and explore the potential consequences¹ of these trends.
¹p. 65-66, 73, 327

The metaphor for this section is The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a classic story of technology (albeit magical technology) run amok. For as long as technology has had a significant impact on society², there have been utopian tales of a benign technological future, just as there have been dystopian tales of forthcoming mechanized nightmares. The truth, we argue, is never as simple or as clear as authors of fiction or futurologists would have us believe.
²p. 5–6, 47–50, 60–61, 327, 332

	Print References
If you expect to be a participant, rather than a spectator, in the events of the future, it is imperative that you be able to make informed judgements on the uses of technology. In the text part of this module, we identify some of the trends - certain, likely, and unknown - that will be characteristic of computer use in the near future, and explore the potential consequences¹ of these trends.	¹p. 65-66, 73, 327
The metaphor for this section is The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a classic story of technology (albeit magical technology) run amok. For as long as technology has had a significant impact on society², there have been utopian tales of a benign technological future, just as there have been dystopian tales of forthcoming mechanized nightmares. The truth, we argue, is never as simple or as clear as authors of fiction or futurologists would have us believe.	²p. 5–6, 47–50, 60–61, 327, 332

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