Electronic illusions: a skeptic's view of our high-tech future

This is a heretical book about technology. Like all heretical opin ion, it presents a less comfortable picture of the world than the orthodox view. Considerable effort has gone into selling the prop osition that technology is good for us, individually and as a so ciety. This public-relations push for computer technology comes not only from corporate publicists of large companies, but also from governments and the media. It has had a great deal of success. Proponents of headlong technological innovation now occupy positions of such power that they have redirected their energies from the promotion of their own ideas to the discour agement of those of their opponents. Aggression toward those who question the effect of changes in technology has evoked a cringing response from many doubters. Instead of stating their objections clearly, the doubters have conceded many of the as sumptions of the pro-technologists. As a result, open criticism of how new technology is designed and introduced has become heresy.