You are going to read the text about computers and their role in contemporary world. Before you read, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you share the opinion that computer is one of the most important social developments in history? Why?

2. What spheres of modern life have been affected by computer?

3. Will computerized devices replace human-beings in the near future? Why? Why not?

WHILE YOU READ

Read the text and complete the following sentences.

1. Global networks like the Internet and especially the World-Wide-Web are …….

2. As a “universal tool” that can, in principle, perform almost any task, computers …….

3. Economic incentives to replace humans with computerized devices are …….

4. Computers play a significant role in …….

5. Technology has certainly made aspects of our lives …….

6. Technology can make life more …….

7. Instead of mailing letters, we …….

8. It’s true that technology has also made society somewhat …….

Computers in Modern Society

 

Information Revolution. In most countries of the world, the “ information revolution ” has altered many aspects of life significantly: commerce, employment, medicine, security, transportation, entertainment, and so on. Consequently, information and communication technology (ICT) has affected – in both good ways and bad ways – community life, family life, human relationships, education, careers, to name just a few examples.

Global networks like the Internet and especially the World Wide Web are connecting people all over the earth. So, for the first time in the history of the earth, ethics and values will be debated and transformed in a context that is not limited to a particular geographic region, or constrained by a specific religion or culture. This may very well be one of the most important social developments in history. Consider just a few of the global issues: global laws, global cyberbusiness, global education.

As a “universal tool” that can, in principle, perform almost any task, computers obviously pose a threat to jobs. Although they occasionallyneed repair, computers don’t require sleep, they don’t get tired, they don’t go home ill or take time off for rest and relaxation. At the same time, computers are often far more efficient than humans in performing many tasks. Therefore, economic incentives to replace humans with computerized devices are very high. Indeed, in the industrialized world many workers already have been replaced by computerized devices – bank tellers, auto workers, telephone operators, typists, graphic artists, security guards, assembly-line workers, and on and on. In addition, even professionals like medical doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants and psychologists are finding that computers can perform many of their traditional professional duties quite effectively.

The employment outlook, however, is not all bad. Consider, for example, the fact that the computer industry already has generated a wide variety of new jobs: hardware engineers, software engineers, systems analysts, webmasters, information technology teachers, computer sales clerks, and so on. Thus it appears that, in the short run, computer-generated unemployment will be an important social problem; but in the long run, information technology will create many more jobs than it eliminates.

Even when a job is not eliminated by computers, it can be radically altered. For example, airline pilots still sit at the controls of commercial airplanes; but during much of a flight the pilot simply watches as a computer flies the plane. Similarly, those who prepare food in restaurants or make products in factories may still have jobs; but often they simply push buttons and watch as computerized devices actually perform the needed tasks. In this way, it is possible for computers to cause “de-skilling” of workers, turning them into passive observers and button pushers. Again, however, the picture is not all bad because computers also have generated new jobs which require new sophisticated skills to perform – for example, “computer assisted drafting” and “keyhole” surgery.

Computers and modern technology have been instrumental in the explosive advances in medical science and modern day conveniences. However computers and technology have also been twisted and debased to further the effectiveness of weapons and wars. So to be honest it’s a double edged sword that can be both used and seen in both a good and bad light.

Information Society. Information society is a term for a society in which the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information has become the most significant economic and cultural activity. An information society may be contrasted with societies in which the economic underpinning is primarily industrial or agrarian. The machine tools of the information society are computers and telecommunications, rather than lathes or ploughs.

Progress in information technologies and communication is changing the way we live, how we work and do business, how we educate our children, study and do research, train ourselves, and how we are entertained. The information society is not only affecting the way people interact but it is also requiring the traditional organisational structures to be more flexible, more participatory and more decentralised.

The idea of a global information society can be viewed in relation to Marshall McLuhan’s prediction that the communications media would transform the world into a “global village.”

Here is a succinct definition from the IBM Community Development Foundation in their 2012 report according to which “Information Society is a society characterised by a high level of information intensity in the everyday life of most citizens, in most organisations and workplaces; by the use of common or compatible technology for a wide range of personal, social, educational and business activities, and by the ability to transmit, receive and exchange digital data rapidly between places irrespective of distance.”

The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. People that have the means to partake in this form of society are sometimes called digital citizens.

Computer and Communication. For still many of us, communicating with family used to mean sending letters and cards through the mail and getting no response until weeks later. We’d pass hand-written notes to friends in class. We’d pick up the telephone – paying for long-distance calls, no less – and could only talk to one person at a time. On top of that, there were no answering machines to leave messages if a person wasn’t home, or Caller ID to screen calls if we didn’t feel like picking up the phone. And pay phones were the only option to call home if our car broke down on the side of the road, or if we had to stay after school.

For the past decade or so, technology has transformed the way we communicate, in part due to the advent of the Internet. Instead of mailing letters, we’re writing e-mailsthroughGmail or Windows Live Hotmail that can be sent instantaneously to a recipient. We can even add multiple recipients to these e-mails, so that more than one person can read them. Even more, we can send greeting cards over the Web with sites like someecards.com and GroupCard.com. No postage needed!

Sending a note to a friend can be done in a matter of seconds through instant message clients like AOL instant message and Meebo. With them, we can see if a “buddy” is available or away, talk to multiple people at a time, “wink” and “sigh” using emoticons, ignore a message if we don’t feel like talking, and send links to our favorite Web articles and videos.

We are no longer bound to long-distance charges, either. Many folks have already kicked their landline phones to the curb and replaced them with Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) andmobile phones. We can place free video calls, we can see the person we’re talking to, to anyone in the world over the Internet by using Skype and a headset. For a monthly paid service we can make regular phone calls over the Internet using the popular Vonage service or signing up for VoIP through our cable company.

Mobile phones have become a godsend, letting us place calls no matter where we are – on the way to work, at the beach, at school, etc. Even text messaging has become an efficient way to get a short message across, such as “Meet you there at 8” or “I’ll be home late.”

It’s true that technology has also made society somewhat impersonal. We communicate with each other mostly through e-mail and instant message. As a result, it’s difficult to tell when a person is serious or sarcastic – our clever turns of phrase can easily be misconstrued. Technology tends to make communication drag out more than it has to, too; sometimes it’s quicker to just get out of your seat and walk to the person, or simply pick up the phone.

Even worse, younger generations have forgotten how to spell and write complete sentences due to the increased use of text messaging on mobile phones. The State Examination Commission said in a report that in many cases, teenagers seemed “unduly reliant on short sentences, simple tenses, and a limited vocabulary” and that with the use of phonetic spelling and little or no punctuation, it’s beginning to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing, not to mention oral communication.

In addition, we’ve seen how addicted people can become to their smart phones, like the Apple iPhone and the Black Berry Storm 9530. You’ve probably heard the term for it: “Crack Berry.” People possess an obsessive need to constantly check their e-mail, even when on vacation with the family. It’s as if we’re afraid we’ll miss something important or be out of the loop.

AFTER YOU READ