Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!rutgers!labrea!jade!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hplabsz!taylor From: jsk@phoenix.UUCP (Jerry Kickenson) Newsgroups: comp.society Subject: Re: Why can't WE change society? Message-ID: <1170@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM> Date: Sun, 6-Dec-87 01:03:14 EST Article-I.D.: hplabsz.1170 Posted: Sun Dec 6 01:03:14 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 11-Dec-87 04:57:27 EST Sender: taylor@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM Organization: AT&T-IS Labs, Lincroft, NJ Lines: 37 Approved: taylor@hplabs There is an organization that attempts to address social issues and do something about them. It is called Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. Members write papers, give media intreviews, testify before Congress, man booths at computer conferences to get other professionals thinking about social issues, etc. The emphasis has been mostly on the perceived problems with SDI as it has been publicized in the press and by the administration, but has lately expanded to include computer systems in military systems generally (SCI, early warning) and privacy issues (NCIC, FBI, credit databases). There are local chapters and contacts that are active in very different degrees. The most active are in Palo Alto, Seattle, and Boston. The national office may be contacted at: CPSR, Inc. P.O. Box 717 Palo Alto, CA 94301 (415) 322-3778 There is also the IEEE Computer Society Committee On Public Policy (COPP) subcommittee on Social Issues. I am a member, and have been contacted by the subcomittee chairman, and I have responded. As of yet (1 month later) I have not heard from him. So, I do not know if this subcommittee will really do anything, but I have hopes. If there are enough people, something will happen. It does have some, if limited, funding. As far as some activity on the net, I'd be all for discussing some constructive action to take. If enough agree on some action, we could actually DO something. Possibilities are ways to prevent malicious use of databases containing sensitive information (even by those maintaining the data), programs that are more sensitive to errors, ideas for software/hardware that may aid handicapped persons to communicate or move, educational aids, methods to ensure that data are consistent across a database (especially in a crime database such as NCIC or credit databases), etc.