Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!cmcl2!brl-adm!umd5!ames!necntc!encore!fay
From: fay@encore.UUCP (Peter Fay)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Knowledge Gap? More like Fear gap
Message-ID: <2364@encore.UUCP>
Date: 17 Dec 87 20:11:33 GMT
References: <8712161659.AA25561@bu-cs.bu.edu>
Reply-To: fay@encore.UUCP (Peter Fay)
Organization: Encore Computer Corp, Marlboro, MA
Lines: 38

In article <8712161659.AA25561@bu-cs.bu.edu> "OAK::BASICSTUD"  writes:
>[...]
>intelligent. During the discussion, at least several people seemed to show
>some kind of general dislike towards machines (complaining about robots used
>in car manufacture, etc.) That sort of state of mind about technology is the
>real problem.
[...]
>(Jeff Mercer)
>------

No, the real problem is not "that state of mind about technology", but
the social use of the technology. And of course, if the social use of
technology is determined (in general) by the ownership of that
technology (e.g. Ford owns the robots which replace the welders on the
assembly line), then the root of the problem is really ownership. The
'fears' are neither irrational nor unfounded. They derive from the
fact that technological advances in this society are first and
foremost applied to the workplace to detriment of the worker. Is the
reaction of the populace so hard to understand?  After all, it has
been going on for hundreds of years, starting with the Ludites in
England at the beginning of the industrial revolution who went around
burning down factories, to the formation of labor organizations in
England 150 years ago to protect against the introduction of new
machinery which _repeatedly_ brought with it longer working days and
less pay, to this century in the U.S. where miners struck continually
to prevent introduction of new mining equipment, dockworkers struck to
prevent container cargo, autoworkers fought (successfully) to delay
introduction of robots, farmworkers struck to stop introduction of
tomato pickers, ad infinitum.

The computer is one more advance in technology. It, in itself, is
harmless.  But it's effect in society is no less harmless than a robot
on an assembly line.

-- 
			peter fay
			fay@multimax.arpa
{allegra|compass|decvax|ihnp4|linus|necis|pur-ee|talcott}!encore!fay