Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the cultural and institutional frameworks and explores the differences that exist in the mainframe and personal computer environments. It presents a coherent view of the technical, cultural, and organizational changes that have come with the widespread use of information processing technologies. The book provides the specific effects of computers in education, government, health care, and industry. It examines human and machine intelligence and reviews the efforts to create intelligence in computers. Computers and information networks could easily be used to extend the state’s control over the individual and the group. In the workplace, the computer can displace, monitor, or speed workers in their tasks. The book describes the themes of cultural and organizational change and the positive and negative aspects of computerization.