Hopes and Horrors: Technological Utopianism and Anti-Utopianism in Narratives of Computerization

This book examines social controversies about computerization and ways to computerize that can be more socially beneficial or harmful. Many key questions that people raise about computerization, in their households, communities, workplaces, and so on, refer to possible future events. For example, university librarians may wonder how they should create a computerized “virtual reference desk” for their clients and shift their spending away from paper-based materials. Managers in a software company may wonder how they can best supervise their staffs and foster teamwork if their team members all work in their separate homes in a large urban area. A young man and woman may wonder whether they can send each other romantic letters via electronic mail and ensure the privacy of their communications. In industrialized societies, millions of professionals and computer specialists ask questions like these every day.