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Computer Dependency

Aired February 21 and 22, 1998

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This is Internet On The Air, I'm Todd Mundt. If you feel helpless when your car is in the shop...imagine the panic when your computer's hard drive crashes. Details in a moment.

Funding Credit: Internet On The Air is a production of the University of Michigan School of Information and Michigan radio, made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Computers now handle many tasks once performed by people. When everything works right, and the automatic teller machine gives us our money or the voice-activated phone operator has the correct number, we don't really notice. But on days when the machine goes haywire...we realize how dependent we have become on computer technology...and the result can be anger and frustration.

Gene Rochlin is a professor at the University of California-Berkley who writes about computer dependence. He says there are no signs that computers are somehow "taking over," as science fiction once suggested. Instead, we are being asked to change our behavior to accommodate the limits of computer systems. For example, a local telephone operator or human bank teller often could resolve problems on the spot. But now, with ATMs and phone banks, problems can be addressed only in ways that computer networks permit.

Rochlin says relying on computers may cause us to lose key skills -- perhaps you've noticed that you use "spellcheck" rather than open a dictionary. On a more serious note, airline pilots trained on simulators may be better prepared to face common problems. But they may be less skilled in coping with emergencies that the simulator left out.

Rochlin says our reliance on computer networks creates something of a paradox... when things work well, computers can give us more flexibility. But when problems arise, they may be harder to solve. To learn more about computer dependence and to listen to an interview with Gene Rochlin, visit our Web site at www.iota.org. For Internet On The Air, I'm Todd Mundt.

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The Interview

IOTA interviewed Gene Rochlin in December 1997.

Internet Connectivity: Problems related to increasing internet connectivity; Distinguishing between good and bad information; Networking Loonies!
Digital Libraries: Searching for digital information; The new networked digital library at the University of California
Who is in control of our computer systems?: What happens when a computer system crashes; The consequences of systems crashes; Our lack of control and knowledge of computer systems
Computers and the stock market: The role of computers in the stock market and large economies; Computers and stock market stability

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Last Updated January 26, 2000

Computer Dependency

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The Interview