Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2 Designing Digital Futures
For decades, new technology has offered tantalizing potential for tremen-
dous benefits to people and society. Harold Sackman, in his influential
topic published in 1967, discussed ideas for augmentation of human capa-
bility through the concept of 'human-computer symbiosis'. He anticipated
a world in which people would be freed from the drudgery of routine tasks
and empowered by computer technology to expand their horizons and
creativity (Sackman 1967). But, as computer technology proliferates and
becomes ever more sophisticated, how close are we to realising this inspir-
ing vision? This chapter outlines some of the benefits and costs of new
digital technologies, and explores the way in which approaches to the de-
sign of ICT systems have developed.
2.1 Living in a Digital World
Certain technological achievements have far exceeded the predictions
made in the early days of computerisation. The wonders of the Internet, the
boundless capabilities offered by rich connectivity of both wired and wire-
less technologies, are a tribute to human creativity, innovation and ingenu-
ity in science and in technological development. Immense technological
challenges have been overcome successfully to enable some of us - a privi-
leged minority worldwide - to enjoy a multitude of facilities undreamed of
by most.
The pace of development is breathtaking. It has been said that human
achievement is no longer limited by technological capabilities, but only by
our capacity to imagine what technology can do for us.
These achievements have delivered an astonishing array of capabilities
and devices that, together, offer significant advantages for professional ac-
tivity, learning, leisure, entertainment, travel, health and every other aspect
of human life to those citizens who are privileged to be able to access and
use them. The Internet for example delivers the possibility of instant ac-
cess to more information than we can imagine - and growing by the hour
(estimates vary, but the rate is astonishing: millions of new web pages are
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