The NII would make possible a United States where business mail would routinely reach its destination in five seconds instead of five days; where advertising could be done in reverse, with consumers broadcasting needs to suppliers; where goods could be ordered and paid for electronically; where a retired engineer in Florida could teach high school algebra to a bunch of students in New York City; where a parent could deliver office work to a distant employer while taking care of young children at home; where you might enjoy from your easy chair your choice of a high-definition video movie from the millions produced; where national treasures like the National Gallery could be explored at your own pace and with your interests in mind … and on the list goes, limited only by our imagination.
Predictor: Dertouzos, Michael
Prediction, in context:In a 1991 article for Technology Review, MIT researcher/administrator Michael Dertouzos writes: ”For the nation’s computer users, the National Information Infrastructure, or NII, would be a common recource of computer-communication services, as easy to use and as important as the telephone network, the electric power grid, and the interstate highways. Indeed, since computers and computing account for 10 percent of the U.S. gross national product, surpassing that automobile in economic impact, the NII has even greater economic potential than these earlier networks. The NII would make possible a United States where business mail would routinely reach its destination in five seconds instead of five days; where advertising could be done in reverse, with consumers broadcasting needs to suppliers; where goods could be ordered and paid for electronically; where a retired engineer in Florida could teach high school algebra to a bunch of students in New York City; where a parent could deliver office work to a distant employer while taking care of young children at home; where you might enjoy from your easy chair your choice of a high-definition video movie from the millions produced; where national treasures like the National Gallery could be explored at your own pace and with your interests in mind; where you could tap a rich assortment of interactive, graphical how-to lessons; where a company’s designers and marketers could collaborate on product planning even though they may be a continent apart and not able to meet at the same time – and on the list goes, limited only by our imagination.”
Biography:Michael Dertouzos was director of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science and the author of “The Unfinished Revolution.” He led a project intended to make computers adapt to people. He outlined a comprehensive proposal for a national information “infrastructure” in a 1991 article for Technology Review. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Technology Review
Title, headline, chapter name: Building the Information Marketplace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web2.infortrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/599/939/33335311w2/purl=rcl
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Dube, Kristin