Education and Research - Evaluating Sustainable Development in the Built Environment - page 208

computer games industry has changed the nature of leisure time,
the internet has changed the way students access knowledge as
well as having led to the development of online shopping. These
are all indicators of behaviour change and it is difficult to know
where these developments will end. Will there be a reaction to
them reversing current extrapolations or will they continue to a
point where an outside observer might see the human race as an
interconnected whole, entirely interdependent and able to be
manipulated at will? Extreme scenarios these may be, but it could
happen. What is clear is that at the moment the way we live our
lives has changed dramatically in one generation.

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Creativity : For many years computers have been seen as machines
that constrain creativity. The rules which have to be obeyed to
operate them have been seen as limiting what can be done. This is
changing, and increasingly, as the technology mimics the real
world and the degrees of freedom we experience in the real world
become available in the virtual environment. In fact they may well
go further because the things at which human beings are not good
may well be the things at which machines excel, and the combina-
tion could lead to real breakthroughs in creativity. The boundaries
may well disappear and already technologists are talking about
enhancing human performance by 'jacking in' the machine to the
brain. At present it is to enhance the brain where there is impair-
ment, but in the future it could be used for overcoming natural
human constraints and providing life enhancement. It could be the
next recreational drug if not used wisely!

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Content : It is the content of these knowledge networks that is critical
to their take-up and the way they are used, and what actions fol-
low from this increase in knowledge. The knowledge has the power
to bind people together by dispelling ignorance and allowing free
communication. On the other hand, it has the power to divide and
reinforce prejudice. It remains to be seen what this will do to make
communities more sustainable. Will they come together or will
they fight? Already tensions can be seen between communities
where there is strong religious belief that divides them. Does one
group's value system, as conveyed by the technology, lead to the
undermining of the other? Is it a tool for harmonisation or dissent?
It is likely to be both, but which will prevail at a particular point in
time we just do not know.

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Collaborative working : Despite the clustering of those engaged in IT
in certain parts of the world, there is also a development in
collaborative working across normal geographic boundaries.
Aeroplanes are designed and constructed with design and sub-as-
sembly plants thousands of miles apart. Supply chains for industry
are linked through the internet, and can act online and monitor
easily the performance of their teams. Many firms encourage their