%0 Journal Article %1 schuler2001csc %A Schuler, Doug %D 2001 %I Routledge %J Information, Communication & Society %K CiHB community design designpatterns langauge participatory pattern postdocapplication public social sphere %N 2 %P 157-181 %T Cultivating Society's Civic Intelligence: Patterns for a New "World Brain" %U http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713768524~db=all %V 4 %X n a recent issue of Wired Magazine, consummate computing pioneer Bill Joy (2000) unveiled a trio of apocalyptic scenarios that he believes could be unleashed in the not-too-distant future. These unpleasantries, resulting from unrestrained, unprincipled and unregulated genetic engineering, nano-technology and robotics (GNR), can be added to the list of big nightmares of the 20th Century (such as environmental disasters, nuclear, and bacteriological warfare) which may yet plague us. Each of these technologies, according to Joy, could abruptly unleash problems on so vast and unprecedented a scale that any of humankind's responses would be completely overwhelmed. That such a notable "priest" had so seriously challenged the central teachings of the technological (and economic) church was not missed by the US media where the story was featured on the front page of the New York Times and other prominent newspapers. Ironically, computers are at the forefront of the problems Joy describes; without them those catastrophes would be inconceivable. Computers, in fact, are the only indispensable element in each of three problems. Joy's scenarios center on technological development outstripping humankind's ability to control it. Our "fail safe point" may have been passed according to Joy. A variant on Malthusian predictions (much disparaged but impossible to disprove) may be finally bearing the bitter fruit that Malthus foresaw. The planet's burgeoning population and its deteriorating environmental condition, coupled with humankind's its propensity towards disagreement and strife, its disregard for nature, and its penchant for exploiting its innermost secrets may provide an ideal set of preconditions for a sudden and profound technological ambush. Joy, of course, is not alone in his warnings. Indeed, our era could be characterized as the age of such warnings. Many scientists have documented the monumental changes that humankind is currently loosing upon the natural environment. In another recent article scientists concluded that the human originated changes currently being wrought on the planet have attained the magnitude of a geologic force (Karl and Trenberth, 1999). Nobody knows the consequences of ignoring these changes. Yet it is a matter of obvious importance to the inhabitants – human and otherwise – of the earth. A cavalier disregard may be catastrophic. Anticipating and possibly averting ecological and other nightmares would likely require changes to our ways of thinking and acting; changes which, depending on their scope and severity, are likely to be extremely difficult to enact. People are loath to change habits developed, cultivated, and rationalized over a lifetime. Humankind, similarly, is unlikely to modify cherished habits to avert problems of the future based on contested evidence of new circumstances, especially ones that may not seem to appropriate to their lives. Joy's predictions border on the apocalyptic; in his mind human extinction within a generation is possible. Assuming that his predictions have even a germ of possibility, the obvious question is what can be done to understand the situation, avert potential disasters, and develop a more sustainable relationship with our social and natural environments. The equally important but less obvious issue is identifying the underlying conditions that would help make even a partial resolution of the problems become conceivable. This paper is an attempt at describing these conditions and how the idea of a "civic intelligence" might play a useful role.

@article{schuler2001csc, abstract = {n a recent issue of Wired Magazine, consummate computing pioneer Bill Joy (2000) unveiled a trio of apocalyptic scenarios that he believes could be unleashed in the not-too-distant future. These unpleasantries, resulting from unrestrained, unprincipled and unregulated genetic engineering, nano-technology and robotics (GNR), can be added to the list of big nightmares of the 20th Century (such as environmental disasters, nuclear, and bacteriological warfare) which may yet plague us. Each of these technologies, according to Joy, could abruptly unleash problems on so vast and unprecedented a scale that any of humankind's responses would be completely overwhelmed. That such a notable "priest" had so seriously challenged the central teachings of the technological (and economic) church was not missed by the US media where the story was featured on the front page of the New York Times and other prominent newspapers. Ironically, computers are at the forefront of the problems Joy describes; without them those catastrophes would be inconceivable. Computers, in fact, are the only indispensable element in each of three problems. Joy's scenarios center on technological development outstripping humankind's ability to control it. Our "fail safe point" may have been passed according to Joy. A variant on Malthusian predictions (much disparaged but impossible to disprove) may be finally bearing the bitter fruit that Malthus foresaw. The planet's burgeoning population and its deteriorating environmental condition, coupled with humankind's its propensity towards disagreement and strife, its disregard for nature, and its penchant for exploiting its innermost secrets may provide an ideal set of preconditions for a sudden and profound technological ambush. Joy, of course, is not alone in his warnings. Indeed, our era could be characterized as the age of such warnings. Many scientists have documented the monumental changes that humankind is currently loosing upon the natural environment. In another recent article scientists concluded that the human originated changes currently being wrought on the planet have attained the magnitude of a geologic force (Karl and Trenberth, 1999). Nobody knows the consequences of ignoring these changes. Yet it is a matter of obvious importance to the inhabitants – human and otherwise – of the earth. A cavalier disregard may be catastrophic. Anticipating and possibly averting ecological and other nightmares would likely require changes to our ways of thinking and acting; changes which, depending on their scope and severity, are likely to be extremely difficult to enact. People are loath to change habits developed, cultivated, and rationalized over a lifetime. Humankind, similarly, is unlikely to modify cherished habits to avert problems of the future based on contested evidence of new circumstances, especially ones that may not seem to appropriate to their lives. Joy's predictions border on the apocalyptic; in his mind human extinction within a generation is possible. Assuming that his predictions have even a germ of possibility, the obvious question is what can be done to understand the situation, avert potential disasters, and develop a more sustainable relationship with our social and natural environments. The equally important but less obvious issue is identifying the underlying conditions that would help make even a partial resolution of the problems become conceivable. This paper is an attempt at describing these conditions and how the idea of a "civic intelligence" might play a useful role.}, added-at = {2007-11-28T14:26:13.000+0100}, author = {Schuler, Doug}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2d21c4d3b16be7bc63098151ca791fea3/yish}, interhash = {4cc5731b2b3c03f2d5469ade8478ac96}, intrahash = {d21c4d3b16be7bc63098151ca791fea3}, journal = {Information, Communication & Society}, keywords = {CiHB community design designpatterns langauge participatory pattern postdocapplication public social sphere}, number = 2, pages = {157-181}, publisher = {Routledge}, timestamp = {2007-11-28T14:26:13.000+0100}, title = {Cultivating Society's Civic Intelligence: Patterns for a New "World Brain"}, url = {http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713768524~db=all}, volume = 4, year = 2001 }