Issues in the Information Society

Issues in the Information Society
       In the emergence of knowledge societies accelerated by rapid technological advances,both hopes and fears have been expressed. Of course the potential of the new technologies to represent the full diversity of knowledge and provide access to
disseminate knowledge is something that is widely accepted. There are issues,however, such as privacy, social justice, peace and sustainable development.Clearly the benefits of living in knowledge-intensive societies are not equally felt
by all sections of the society. Unless all citizens are enabled to evenly enjoy the new opportunities offered by ICTs, the new technologies may result in further
widening the multi-layered digital divide experienced both between individuals and entire communities leading to social exclusion of certain sections of the society. It is important to address these issues, if a truly knowledge society has to
be established. Let us briefly examine some of these issues:
• Privacy and Freedom: It is a paradox that while ICTs make people more free the technology also enables surveillance by governments and others.The new technologies raise serious questions related to privacy and freedom.
Such fear of loss of privacy could lead people to avoid using technologies and this could have serious consequences. There is therefore the important issue of whether in the name of openness and free access to information and knowledge, societies become societies of technological surveillance?
Knowledge societies could lead to confusion between knowledge for all and knowledge on all? There should be a clear separation between the public and
private domain to protect individuals against too intrusive an interest by others in what does not concern them.
• Digital Divide: It has been estimated that there are some 500 million of the world’s population, three-fourths of them in developing countries, not benefiting from the knowledge resources and services of libraries and other
information systems. This is an anachronism. There is not only a digital divide between nations but also within a country, For Example between urban and rural populations. Some believe that the digital divide will close naturally over time, others hold that there is nothing “new” about the divide
as it only reflects existing structural disadvantage. These suggest the need for more profound social changes beyond those offered by technological skills. Looked at from a community perspective it is important to ensure that people have adequate knowledge to be able to use computers, the Internet,
etc.
• Control of the Network: Another issue that also needs to be addressed is the one that relates to network control. Issues such as those related to open standards, public control or proprietary systems and ownership come up
here. It has been suggested that Information Age disaster comes from the network of networks not outer space.
• Commercialization of Knowledge: The increasing commoditization of knowledge and access to information is also seen in some quarters as a possible threat to the transition to knowledge society. There is no question
that the emergence of information industry as a major player is primarily due to the commercial value of information on the one hand and the phenomenon of information overload on the other.
• Legal and Rights Issues: An important issue that will frequently crop up as possession of knowledge, access to knowledge and the ability to apply knowledge increasingly become factors of economic growth and development, relates to ownership of information and intellectual property rights. This is closely related to the preceding issue (commercialization of knowledge).