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In early 1997, the Association for Computing Machinery celebrated
its golden jubilee with a special conference and a book, Beyond Calculation:
The Next Fifty Years of Computing. Edited by Peter J. Denning and Robert M.
Metcalfe, Beyond Calculation contains original, thought-provoking essays
by twenty-four leaders in the industry, who speculate about the future of computing
and its effects on everyday life. The success of Beyond
Calculation led the ACM to produce this sequel, Talking Back to the Machine.
This book captures the visions of the nineteen speakers at the ACM conference,
most of whom were not represented in Beyond Calculation. Renowned experts
all, they ponder how computers will influence the ways we function as individuals
and within society in coming decades. They describe the many different ways in
which our lives may be altered by information technology and how we ourselves
might shape things to come. Providing a detailed look
at the likely futures of computing, computers, and their impact on our lives,
Talking Back to the Machine is a must-read for anyone interested in the
fascinating and increasingly complex intersections of technology and society.
Peter J. Denning is professor of computer science and information
technology, and university process reengineering coordinator, at George Mason
University. He was the founding director of the Research Institute for Advanced
Computer Science at the NASA Ames Research Center, a co-founder of CSNET, and
President of the Association for Computing Machinery 1980-82. |
