Highways of the Mind or Toll Roads Between Information Castles?

Gore speaks of a “catalyst” role for the federal government, akin to the creation of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.

Highways of the Mind or Toll Roads Between Information Castles?

So far, two models or metaphors – “highways” and “railroads” have been proposed to frame the debate. Both borrow from transportation examples in U.S. history. Both, I believe, fall short of the mark. And we suggest that a little tweaking of the two, the best solution for the U.S. might be found in a kind of synthesis of these different visions.

Highways of the Mind or Toll Roads Between Information Castles?

The future belongs to those who have ready access to huge amounts of accurate information … In the United States there is only a vague consensus that this high-bandwidth network is vital. In place of the unity of purpose evident in Japan, there is internecine squabbling over who has the right to do what/to where/to whom.

Highways of the Mind or Toll Roads Between Information Castles?

If access to such data networks is restricted to only those who already have money, power and information then the highways of the mind might become nothing more than a classic case of economic imperialism, taxation without communication, that one critic has dubbed “toll roads between information castles.”

Highways of the Mind or Toll Roads Between Information Castles?

These networks form the key infrastructure of the 21st century, as critical to business success and national economic development as the railroads were in [Samuel] Morse’s era.

Highways of the Mind or Toll Roads Between Information Castles?

A quiet but crucial debate now under way in Congress, in major corporate boardrooms, and in universities, has the potential to shape America in the 21st century and beyond … Vast data highways, capable of sending entire libraries coast-to-coast in a few seconds or sending crucial CAT scans from a remote village to urban specialists, could be linked in a vast network of “highways of the mind.”

Business May Drive Information Highway

The government could best facilitate universal service by letting markets alone because the more competition there is, the more likely all people are to gain access. Government must also make sure no single company controls the technology and access to the network.

E-Money (That’s What I Want)

While it will take years, perhaps decades, for e-money to replace hard currency in the physical world, the virtual world not only can’t accommodate the current system, but is desperate for immediate implementation of the digital equivalent. Everyone agrees that the Internet is the staging ground for the first true boom in electronic commerce, but it’s a transactional wasteland. You can’t buy anything without a credit card. You can’t even collect on a $2 bet with a friend.

Future is with Internet, Says Head of Sun

The real value of an information network will not be in a 500-channel cable TV and other entertainment media for home users but will be driven by business. The network will help large work groups automate their organizations and use fiberoptics and other technologies to transmit video, audio and data.