Introduction

Incessant public-opinion polling and increasingly sophisticated interactive telecommunications devices make government instantly aware of, and responsive to, popular will – some say, too responsive for the good of the nation. As the elect seek to respond to every twist and turn of the electorate’s mood, the people at large are taking on a more direct role in government than the Founders ever intended. This democratic political transformation is being propelled largely by two developments – the 200-year-long march toward political equality for all citizens and the explosive growth of new telecommunications media, the remarkable convergence of television, telephone, satellites, cable, and personal computers.

Epilogue: An Age of Optimism

Bits are not edible; in that sense they cannot stop hunger. Computers are not moral; they cannot resolve complex issues like the rights to life and to death. But being digital, nevertheless, does give much cause for optimism. Like a force of nature, the digital age cannot be denied or stopped. It has four very powerful qualities that will result in its ultimate triumph: decentralizing, globalizing, harmonizing, and empowering … A new generation is emerging from the digital landscape free of many of the old prejudices. These kids are released from the limitation of geographic proximity as a sole basis of friendship, collaboration, play, and neighborhood … The information superhighway may be mostly hype today, but is an understatement about tomorrow. It will exist beyond people’s wildest predictions.

Epilogue: An Age of Optimism

As we move more toward such a digital world, an entire sector of the population will be or feel disenfranchised.

Epilogue: An Age of Optimism

As the business world globalizes and the Internet grows, we will start to see a seamless digital workplace … Bits will be borderless, stored and manipulated with absolutely no respect to geopolitical boundaries. In fact, time zones will probably play a bigger role in our digital future than trade zones. I can imagine software projects that literally move around the world from east to west on a 24-hour cycle, from person to person or from group to group, one working as the other sleeps.

Epilogue: An Age of Optimism

The next decade will see cases of intellectual-property abuse and invasion of our privacy. We will experience digital vandalism, software piracy, and data thievery. Worst of all, we will witness the loss of many jobs to wholly automated systems, which will soon change the white-collar workplace to the same degree that it has already transformed the factory floor. The notion of lifetime employment at one job has already started to disappear. The radical transformation of the nature of our job markets, as we work less with atoms and more with bits, will happen at just about the same time the 2 billion-strong labor force of India and China starts to come on-line (literally). A self-employed software designer in Peoria will be competing with his or her counterpart in Pohang.

Chapter 17: Digital Fables and Foibles

The persona of a machine makes it fun, relaxing, usable, friendly, and less “mechanical” in spirit. Breaking in a new personal computer will become more like house-training a puppy. You will be able to purchase personality modules that include behavior and style of living of fictitious characters. You will be able to buy a Larry King personality for your newspaper interface. Kids might wish to surf the Net with Dr. Seuss … We will see systems with humor, systems that nudge and prod, even ones that are as stern and disciplinarian as a Bavarian nanny.

Chapter 17: Digital Fables and Foibles

Future rooms will know that you just sat down to eat, that you have gone to sleep, just stepped into the shower, took the dog for a walk. A phone would never ring. If you were not there, it won’t ring because you are not there. If you are there and digital butler decides to connect you, the nearest doorknob may say, “Excuse me, Madam,” and make the connection. Some people call this ubiquitous computing, which it is, and some of the same people present it as the opposite of using interface agents, which it is not. These two concepts are one and the same.