E-Futures project - The 'Net: the twentieth century's cultural landscape

Australian Computer Society

The 'Net: the twentieth century's cultural landscape

E-Futures - Three months on the InfoBahn looking for the on-line future

by Tom Worthington, President of the Australian Computer Society

Et in Arcadia ego

Announcement & Summary

Draft of 21 October 1996: The content of this talk will be developed here. Suggestions and comments welcome: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au

In a series of presentations, Tom Worthington argues that IT will be the medium through which future generations look at the culture of the twentieth century. In creating the technical infrastructure for that network he argues that developers must look beyond short term technical, legal and commercial interests to the longer term interests of society. He uses the analogy of landscape architecture defining an invented, but very real and "natural" looking environment.

Introduction

In September 1996 an Advisory Committee issued a call for submissions on the location for new facilities for the National Museum of Australia and Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Canberra. As well as issue the call on paper, it was put out on the Web. This included a map of the center of Canberra, showing possible locations for the facilities. There was an electronic proforma included for preparing submissions and those submission could be sent by e-mail to the committee.

It is now not unusual for Government enquiries to call for submissions on-line (and I helped it happen). However, stop and consider the implications: the physical structure of a city will be, in part determined by what happens on-line and people will largely learn of it on-line. The shape of the city of Canberra will be changed depending on who reads the on-line documents and how they respond to the call for submissions. What people think the shape of Canberra is, or could be, or was, will be defined by the on-line map.

Wherever the Museum is built, it will in part exist on-line. Many more people will see the on-line exhibits than will visit the physical displays in Canberra. Those exhibits will in part define and express the culture of the people of Australia. Those looking from far away in space or time will rely on the on-line documents to understand what is and was there. To a very real extent what goes on-line will be, by definition, the culture of Australia.

We do not have the luxury of years or decades to work out the implications on this technology or the praticalities of using the it wisely, we have months. Before all of the Australian economy and culture moves on-line we must consider the consequences and address potential problems.

The twentieth century's cultural landscape

In 1995 I drew an anology between 18th century English landscape architecture and the design of the InfoBahn. What now considered the "natural" English countryside was largely designed by landscape architects. In the same way the "natural" method of operation of the 'net is now being designed.

Who's Culture On-line?

The Internet provides a very powerful paradigm for working. This is likely to be adopted within the next twelve months as the "natural" way to run a social club, a company or a country. Before this happens we need to look to see if this suits Australian conditions.

The Internet paradigm is that communication is cheap on-line , so anyone can have information and anyone can contribute. Many of the organisational and political structures of Australia are built on the assumption that communication is expensive. Making communication cheap will eliminate the role for many layers of organisational structure and much of the physical makeup of our cities.

Already the Internet paradigm has started to change Australian politics. The report 'Management of Government Information as a National Strategic Resource', from the Federal Government's Information Management Steering Committee was released for public comment and feedback 21 October. The report was released on-line and it proposes that Australians should have on-line access to most Government information.

Australian Government's have traditionally followed the UK model, where the Government owns its information and only puts out what it wants. The report proposes more of the US model, where the people own the information and have a general right to it.

However this report has to survive review by the Information Technology and Telecommunications Policy Advisory Committee (ITTPAC). The IITPAC, announced by the Federal Minister for Finance, John Fahey, in Canberra on 10th October, is made up almost entirely of senior bureaucrats and business executives. These people are not just dealing with some technical issue about Government computer use, but are deciding how Australian citizens will have access to Government information.

On-line access is only "free" if you already have the necessary equipment and network connection. The Community Information Network (CIN) project of the previous Government has been terminated and an election promise of $11.4M for networked library access was reduced to $2.2M.

Without some form of community access, Government Internet use will increase information inequity and frustrate potential efficiencies in Government business.

Some questions I will be looking at later are: