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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
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Organization: AT&T-IS Labs, Lincroft, NJ
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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.