As concerned citizens, we direct public attention to critical choices concerning the applications of computing and how those choices affect society. Members of CPSR believe that computer technology should make life more enjoyable, productive, and secure. We are working for a world in which science and technology are used not to produce weapons of war, but to foster a safe and just society. Since its beginnings as a small discussion group formed over a Palo Alto computer mail network in 1981, CPSR has grown into a national organization with 21 chapters throughout the United States. We are also affiliated with similar groups in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Germany, Finland, and Italy.
Membership is open to all.
Overreliance on computing technology can lead to unacceptable risks. By the mid-1990s, most U.S. workers will use a computer on the job. The increasing use of computers in the workplace raises important social issues, and CPSR believes that it is important for computer professionals to be involved in this debate. With the end of the Cold War and the changes that have swept Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, it is time to refocus our scientific and technological research toward the problems that society faces as we enter the next century. The 21st Century Project, led by CPSR from our Cambridge office, is a coalition of professional organizations working to redirect national science and technology priorities, so that they more closely match social needs.