Dream Machines

Every now and again something happens to us that lets us dream new dreams. The invention of the printing press, the European discovery of America, the industrial revolution, the emergence of democracy, going to the moon, the fall of the Berlin Wall . . . we can all think of examples. The interesting thing about all these changes is that, as well as their immediate practical impact, they each opened up new visions of what we have in us to be, or do. Each, too, has its dark side; dreams are not unequivocally 'good' or 'bad' in a simple way.

Most people would agree that the impact of computers, and the programs that run on them, what we call information technology (IT), is similarly profound - they are truly dream machines. We are probably most aware of the immediate practical effects, such as word processors and mobile phones, but computers are willy-nilly changing the society we live in, for good or ill, or perhaps for both. Whether we like it or not, computers present us with new moral and, yes, spiritual choices, especially when they are connected together in cyberspace (which we'll explore more in Chapter 3). Ignoring these choices does not mean they will not get made: they will simply be made by others, or perhaps be made by default.

One trouble is that computers, information technology, the Internet, cyberspace and so on are surrounded by such a tremendous fog of technological jargon and mystique that ordinary people feel they are powerless to understand, let alone affect, what is going on. Three attitudes to computers and information technology are common.

• The enthusiast, who gives an uncritical welcome to everything hi-tech. Progress is good, experts are to be trusted and critics are Luddites. The trouble here is that the enthusiast risks being so dazzled by the benefits of technological progress that he or she neglects its less desirable consequences.
• The ostrich. Many people feel that they don't understand computers, and hence (often implicitly) can have no opinions about, or influence on, their use in society. Our view is that information technology is having such a pervasive and profound impact on the society we live in that it is far too important to leave to the 'experts'; that is, to a combination of politicians and professionals, however well intentioned.
• The prophet of doom, whose main theme is a litany of stories about the incompetence of, or harmful effects of, computer systems. Such blanket condemnation is ineffective; IT is not going to be uninvented, nor would we argue that it should be. More importantly, though, this view does not open us up to the creative potential that IT can unlock.

Our purpose is to encourage an informed awareness about these changes, to encourage users of the technology to reflect on its meaning for them, and to think about how it may serve their needs. Our aim is not to evangelize on behalf of the technology, proclaiming what great things computers are, and how much all our readers need one (if they do not have one), or need a newer, smarter, more powerful one (if they already have one). Plenty of people do that already! Nor is it to decry the technology as such. There is no clear and simple answer to be given to the question whether IT or the Internet are 'good things', though people may (and do) do good things with them. The overriding concern is that we see the technologies discussed in the light of human good and human flourishing.