NYT: Study Says Technology Could Transform Society (1982)
A fairly prescient article by Robert Reinhold in the New York Times on 14 June, 1982 (five days before I was born, incidentally).
STUDY SAYS TECHNOLOGY COULD TRANSFORM SOCIETY
A report commissioned by the National Science Foundation and made public today speculates that by the end of this century electronic information technology will have transformed American home, business, manufacturing, school, family and political life.
It goes on to describe the widespread adoption of the consumer Internet, and the effect it might have on commerce, work, and home life. It gets plenty of things right (the easy availability of information, and potential privacy issues), and some things wrong (telecommuting is still uncommon, and it’s arguably whether the elderly have experienced greater inclusion due to the Internet).
A fascinating read from the past.
(And in a similar vein on Reddit today: Today’s real life is yesterday’s fiction.)
