Anticipating Social and Policy Implication of Intelligent Networks: Complexity, Choice and Participation

Citation

Chiang, D. (1998), "Anticipating Social and Policy Implication of Intelligent Networks: Complexity, Choice and Participation", Internet Research, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.1998.17208aaf.012

Anticipating Social and Policy Implication of Intelligent Networks: Complexity, Choice and Participation

Anticipating Social and Policy Implication of Intelligent Networks: Complexity, Choice and Participation

G. Hearn, L. Simpson, L. Holman et.al. (1995), The Communication Centre, Queensland University of Technology, 90pp., ISBN 1-86435-068-7. The Communication Center Research Report Series, Research Report No. 2, ISSN 1322-2635. Available: The Communication Centre, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Q 4001, Australia. Tel: (+61) 07-3864 2192; Fax: (+61) 07-3864 1813; E-mail: t.stevenson@qut.edu.au

This is a report of a research project conducted by the Communication Centre at Australia's Queensland University of Technology (QUT) from 1992 to 1993, at a time when Telecom Australia was moving from analog to digital based services. The digitally based telecommunication system provides an opportunity to build an intelligent network, which may ultimately change how people work, learn, and live. Therefore, the purposes of the research were:

• •

  to identify social and policy implications of Intelligent Networks;

• •

  to define a methodology for identifying social and policy implications of new communication technology.

The monograph includes three parts: Executive summary, Report, and Appendices. The report is composed of nine chapters: Introduction, Aims and significance, Theoretical grounding, Methodology, Findings, Discussion, Policy implications for Telecom Australia, Recommendations, and Bibliography. The appendices include lists of participants (without names) and program for the four seminars and workshops conducted for this project.

The combination of fibre optic cable and computerisation of networks, as well as digital switching and signaling, allows for much more information to be transmitted over networks. Adding databases at service control points enable routing between switches and databases, therefore adding a variety of "intelligent" features and services such as calling number identification, anonymous call rejection, distinctive ringing, selective re-routing of incoming calls and increased flexibility for charging and payment of services. With such innovations, there are also concerns of threats to certain long accepted social habits, which in turn may bring changes to human social interactions. There is a lot of literature debating the social impacts associated with the implementation of intelligent technologies, and the author's basic position is that "technological change and social change are reciprocally related and open to influence by human choices... By anticipating technological innovations and analysing the consequential social implications and issues, we should be better able to facilitate desirable change and lessen undesirable impacts." After much research with existing literature on the interrelationships between technology innovations and social changes, the authors formed their basic theory of "first and second order changes."

First order changes constitute changes to the telecommunication system and configuration, and second order changes are those changes that occur within the social system that are related to the first order changes.

For this research project, a series of three "Search Seminars" were conducted between October 1992 and March 1993, and one additional confirmatory discussion group was also conducted in March 1993. An average of 20 or so people participated in each of the seminars, and they include representatives from a variety of users. Participants of the third "Search Seminar" were youngsters with ages ranging from five to 17. The seminars were divided into segments that allowed participants to:

1. 1.

   Identify personal and societal goals for the immediate future and the year 2002/3, ten years from the seminar date.

2. 2.

   Remember recent technology innovations and societal changes, such as the invention and popularisation of personal computers, compact disks, photocopiers, the Anti-Discrimination Act, the Disabled Persons Act, etc.

3. 3.

   Imagine future technologies, with particular focus on intelligent networks. This segment was conducted before the next one so that participants could freely imagine what could happen.

4. 4.

   Informational session by computer and telecommunications companies and experts on what was available and their visions of the future.

5. 5.

   Design of the ideal intelligent network with the added information.

6. 6.

   Evaluate and debate issues, potential problems, and opportunities associated with the implementation of the intelligent network.

Through the discussions, participants identified a series of first and second order changes and anticipated social issues. The participants basically duplicated debates from existing literature on equity, privacy, security, and ownership of information, but they have also identified a few other perspectives on "complexity," "choice," and "participation." In short, an Intelligent Network has a paradoxical effect. It increases opportunities for coordination and empowerment within decentralised systems, as well as greater social equity, while simultaneously increasing social power differences and thus centralised control. The complexity implicated by the Intelligent Network will require an intelligent community capable of making new forms of choices. Finally, the ability to make choices about technology demands the opportunity for participation and collaboration in decision making during the development, implementation and evaluation of new technology.

In conclusion, the research team identified social and policy implications of an intelligent network, some of them have been widely discussed in existing literature, and some of them were new perspectives. The authors attributed the identification of the new perspectives with the action research method they used during the seminars. They also discussed the advantages and limitations of this particular approach. Although the final recommendations were particularly for Telecom Australia and for Queensland University of Technology Communication Centre, most of the recommendations are applicable to other similar organisations. The issues identified by the research team for further research are definitely worthy of study by any group interested in technology and social changes. The report itself can be used as recommended readings for students in social impacts of information technologies.

Dudee ChiangThomas & Dorothy Leavey Library, University of Southern California, LA