The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst
Stephen Talbott'sThe Future Does Not Computehas been widely touted as a neo-Luddite anti-computer tract. This sort of pigeonholing makes it easy to ignore the profound and disturbing questions Talbott raises about our machine-dominated society. The author brings years of computer and Internet experience to the table, leavened by a deep skepticism of techno-idealism, disdain of muddy thinking, and fear that we have embraced an overwhelming force before we've begun to examine its implications.Is technology a utopian delusion that blinds us to social and personal reality? Does the information society actually disdain information? Have we anthropomorphized machines to the point where our institutions resemble them? Talbott neither expects that computers will vanish, nor believes they should. What he asks of us is to examine closely our own humanity. As much as computer believers may squirm, it's hard to elude the questions raised by this complex and intelligent book.