Digital technology is ushering in a marriage between television, computers and telephones that many believe will revolutionize the business, political and cultural landscape of the entire globe.
The development we now generally refer to as cyberspace may be a hot topic of discussion these days, but it is unlikely that it will be much talked about 25 years from now … Over the next few decades, cyberspace will become increasingly ubiquitous and unobtrusive – which is another way of suggesting that its social impact may be so profound that we won’t even be able to trace all the ramifications.
Interactive mixed media would have limitless instructional, educational and cultural uses … The world’s great architects, doctors, musical performers, car designers and poets could use this technology to deliver and explain their own unique forms of knowledge. Students would gain the advantage of being tutored and would derive much more wisdom from the masters than they could by studying passive manuscripts, drawings and musical scores
It is not the intent of the National Security Agency to undermine the economic competitiveness of U.S. industry. It must be recognized, however, that cryptographic technology continues to be viewed as vital to national and international security interests.
Unbreakable encryption would give really bad people, such as child pornographers, a sanctuary.
The NII would make it practical to hook up the algebra students of 20 high schools around the country with 20 of the nation’s best algebra instructors. Students would be able to watch lectures interactively via video. They could also get individualized help by submitting their homework questions, via the NII, to an electronic teaching assistant. This computer program would answer routine questions and refer new ones to human instructors.
It would accelerate production while minimizing inventories and allow manufacturers to produce customized goods at mass-production costs. Custom apparel would be a good example of this capability, which I like to call mass individualized production.
People using Clipper would have a lot more security in their messages than they have today because many people use few safeguards on their e-mail.
Mail-order shoppers, for example, could view the products of many companies on screen as still images – or as interactive video clips, in which pointing at a picture of a children’s toy would show the toy in action. They could choose a product and pay for it electronically, signaling the vendor to ship it immediately.
E-mail addresses are easy to identify, and electronic advertising requires minimal overhead … “This is one of the first signs that lawyers and sheriffs are coming to town.”