Informatics and society: Will there be an ‘information revolution’?

The claim that an information revolution is underway is scrutinized in this paper. Particular attention is given to the notions that new information technology will radically increase human choice and rationality in decision-making. The literature on informatics and technology is selectively reviewed in order to determine whether (1) the present use of technology seems to predict an increased choice and rationality in the future; (2) earlier technologies have had this effect; and (3) past social predictions of this type have proven generally correct. We reach a mixed or negative conclusion in every case. Although the possibility of an information revolution cannot be dismissed, neither can it be readily accepted at this point unless we significantly diminish what is normally meant by a ‘revolution’. Lorne Tepperman is Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. His most important publications are:Social Mobility in Canada (1975);Crime Control: The Urge Toward Authority (1977);The Roots of Disunity (1979), with David Ball. Originally presented at a symposium on “Computers and Society”, held at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, on January 30, 1984.