From Computers to the Information Society

Havass, Miklos

The first part of the lecture overviews the amazing pace of development, which has led to computers working everywhere around us. In just fifty years computers have come to be central to a huge range of tasks. The most important issues of computer development are speed, memory capacity and error-proof operation which all point in the direction of miniaturisation. This tendency will reach its peak in about 15 to 20 years time. The next phase of development will most probably be marked by quantum computers operating on entirely new principles.
The rapid merging of information technology, telecommunications and electronic media is organising us all into worldwide networks. We live in a digital world: humans, computers, robots and automatons communicate digitally in an 'inter-woven' world.
A new information society is taking shape based on a new technology in a global world. Time is shorter, the pace quicker. Our culture, our public life - all that forms the historical basis of our personality is changing and the mental and physical threshold of tolerance of man, community, and society is yet to be fully understood.

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