The Social Impact of Computers

Richard S. Rosenberg

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9780125971300
• eBook ISBN:
  9781483267159
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

The Social Impact of Computers should be read as a guide to the social implications of current and future applications of computers. Among the basic themes presented are the following: the changing nature of work in response to technological innovation as well as the threat to jobs; personal freedom in the machine age as manifested by challenges to privacy, dignity, and work; the relationship between advances in computer and communications technology and the possibility of increased centralization of authority; and the emergence and influence of artificial intelligence and its role in decision-making, especially in military applications. The book begins with background and historical information on computers and technology. Separate chapters then cover major applications: business, medicine, education, government; major social issues, including crime, privacy, work; and new technologies and problems: industry regulation, electronic funds transfer systems, international competition, national industrial policies, robotics and industrial automation, productivity, the information society, videotex. The final chapter discusses issues associated with ethics and professionalism. The material presented should be accessible to most university students who have had an introductory course in computer science. Self taught or sufficiently motivated individuals who have gained an understanding of how computers operate should also profit from this book. Especially useful are backgrounds in sociology, economics, history, political science, or philosophy.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• The Social Impact of Computers
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• CHAPTER 1. COMPUTERS ARE EVERYWHERE
• CHAPTER 2. COMPUTERS AND THE HUMAN IMAGINATION
• CHAPTER 3. CRITICISM AND HISTORY
• CHAPTER 4. THE BUSINESS WORLD
• CHAPTER 5. MEDICINE AND COMPUTERS
• CHAPTER 6. COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
• CHAPTER 7. GOVERNMENT AND COMPUTERS
• CHAPTER 8. COMPUTERS AND THE LAW
• CHAPTER 9. PRIVACY AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
• CHAPTER 10. EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
• CHAPTER 11. BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT
• CHAPTER 12. ROBOTICS AND INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
• CHAPTER 13. THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
• CHAPTER 14. ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM
• APPENDIX: MAGAZINES, JOURNALS, AND ASSOCIATIONS
• INDEX