Information technology and psychology, prospects for the future

The past 30 years have witnessed enormous advances in information technologies. These advances have had a profound and irreversible effect on every institution of modern society. Implementing information-processing technology fell to professional experts and a relatively small cadre of managerial personnel. Responsibility for the utilization of computer technology has shifted away from these professionals, and promises to accelerate due to technological advances and reduced costs for information-processing devices. A symposium was convened in 1980 at the University of Houston to examine the recent antecedents and future consequences of these developments in information technology. Distinguished spokespersons were invited from academic science, government, and business. This book contains the papers delivered at the symposium and the concluding discussion.