Cyber Society Forum

Cyber Society Forum

The World Future Society invites essays describing how life may look in the future as information technology changes our world.

Copyright: These papers are protected by the authors' copyright and may not be reproduced or distributed without the authors' permission.

To submit proposals: Please e-mail the full text, along with an abstract of no more than 50 words, to the editors.

Is Paperless Possible?
By Allen H. Kupetz
The computer industry has beeen telling us for years that computers will enhance our productivity by making paper unnecessary. Find out if paperless is possible.

The Virtual Enterprise and Its Future
By Alexandru Tugui
This study approaches, from the conceptual viewpoint, the modern enterprise and information and communication technologies, which make the connection with the virtual enterprise. As concerns the virtual enterprise, we are interested in the components of such a enterprise, in the structure of its information system, in the changes that will occur in the life of the virtual enterprise and in what such virtual enterprise involves from the bookkeeping point of view. Here are some questions that we would like to give answers to below.

What is the Globally Information-Based Society Followed By?
By Alexandru Tugui and Tudorel Fatu
In this study, we intend to point out some specific aspects of the information society, together with the four waves of the information technology. Since the progress of the human society is impossible to stop in a future globally information-based society, the following question came to us naturally: "What is after that?" Our answer is direct and concise and involves the intelligence of the future systems and the possibilities of successfully linking these technologies to the biological systems and not only.

Reading in the 21st-Century
By C. Ikehara
As modes of communication shift from reading text to other forms (e.g., visual images), will any efficiency gained from that transition be offset by the loss of something which will be beyond recovery? Will there be a break in the continuity from the past which may turn out to be not only undesirable, but also irreversible? If the role of reading in the future diminishes, will that have any adverse effect on how we perceive ourselves, our world, and our future? Will it affect (or even impair) our thought processes and how we learn? And what about relationships with our leaders? Are we headed towards a 'Brave New World' where the masses will not only be discouraged from reading, but encouraged to depend on leaders to do their thinking for them?

The Far-Reaching Implications of the Cyber Revolution
By Carter Henderson
The article examines the great transformation from raw materials, which fueled the old Industrial Age, to bits of information driving the new Cyber Age, which is rapidly changing the lives of us all.

Who Called This Meeting? Automated Schedulers the Latest Scourge for the Technologically Besieged Office Worker
By Marita Moll
Technologies that are smart enough to schedule our meetings and reserve our conference rooms are certainly creating new frustrations for machine-dominated workers. But more than that, they may be yet another brick in the wall of “the future that doesn’t need us.” To avoid being relieved of the responsibility of being human, we need to practice guerrilla acts of resistance to the world of machine command and control.

From Hierarchy to Wirearchy: The Future of Workplace Dynamics
By Jon Husband
As the Internet has moved through the dot.com boom and bust, and integrated software encases most organizational activities, the dynamics of hierarchy have begun to morph into a new dynamic called wirearchy. Wirearchy is a dynamic flow of power and authority, based on information, trust, credibility and a focus on results, enabled by interconnected technology and people.

The Virtual Country
by The DaVinci Institute
The Internet is facilitating a new, technocratic competitor to the nation-state. Here are several scenarios of the emerging Virtual Country.

The Demise of Ethnic Differences — Cultural Identity and the Internet
By Caleb Rosado, Ph.D.
The Internet allows us to transcend traditional approaches to human identity, which focus on superficial issues such as race, ethnicity, and gender, and instead focus on ideas and shared values.

The Webcentric University
by Samuel L. Dunn
Future universities will thrive if they capitalize on the community-building opportunities brought about by the Internet and World Wide Web. A university administrator offers a scenario showing how it will work.

"He Who Rides the Wild Elephant . . ."
by Carter Henderson
Pizza, pornography, and cemetery plots--you'd be hard-pressed to name anything that isn't available on the Internet. Here's a look at what's out there, what it means, and what's next on the wild-elephant ride that is the Internet.

E-Employment  Is it Time to Change the Way We Work?
by Ron Messer
Corporate culture and values should be more like the open-source software movement in order to take advantage of the potential of virtual employees.

Ten Ways Your Life Will Change in the Cyber Future
by Edward Cornish
Infotech will make it easier to keep your personal information handy--and easier for other people to access it. You'll be snug in a smarter and more-secure home, yet the Internet will give you access to a world of friends--and even sex partners. These are just a few of the ways communications and computer technologies will change life in the next 25 years, according to the president of the World Future Society.