the future of information its changing role in society ashok k. agrawala director, mind lab...
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The Future of InformationIts Changing Role in Society
Ashok K. Agrawala
Director, MIND Lab
Professor, Computer Science
University of Maryland
“Information is not knowledge”– Albert Einstein
“… the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as through it has an underlying truth.”– Umberto Eco
What is information??
Two Basic Entities
• Energy/Matter• Information
Traditionally
• Information => Power• He who has information has power• Controlling flow of information => Controlling population
Information
• Plays a critical role in all decision making/actions• Available Information
– Storage
• Accessible Information– Transport and Access Methods
• Useful Information– Selection Process – What question to ask?
• Security and Protection
Aspects of Information
• Information– Production/Reproduction/Collection/Recording– Storage– Transfer– Accessibility– Duplication– Security and Authentication– Trust in the authenticity– Meaning ??
• Technology has always played a key role. Its form has been different at different times.
• Relative costs have changed substantially
Impact of changes in Costs
• Form– Human Memory– Stone– Paper– Film– Digital
• Punched cards• Tapes• Cassettes• CD – DVD – CMOS • …
• Production/Collection• Storage• Transfer • Accessibility• Duplication• Security and Authentication
Information Past
• Production/Reproduction– Human
• Large Capacity• Automatic Input/Output• Unreliable Recall• Distortions –
Intentional/Unintentional
• Transfer– People Movement– Communication Through a
natural language
• Accessibility– Local
• Copying/Reproduction??• Security/Authentication
– Physical Security of humans
• Trust in the Authenticity?
InformationPast
• Form– Typically on paper
• Files• Books
– Libraries/Archives
• Accessibility– Difficult
• Filing Systems• Catalogs• Systematic
arrangements
• Production/Reproduction– Handwritten– Printed
• Duplication– By hand– Photocopying– Cost ???
Information Past
• Storage– Paper
• Handwritten• Printed• Books/Files/Reports/…
– Libraries
• Transfer– Physical Movement of
Paper• Postal System, etc.
• Accessibility– Catalogs– File indexes– …
InformationPresent
• Form– Encoded as bits, bytes,
words, records, etc.– Stored in digital media
• Accessibility– Through computers– Networks– Internet– Much easier
• Production/Reproduction– Conversion from non-
digital form– Direct digital production
• Duplication– Easy– Inexpensive
Dissemination/Spread of Information
• Mechanism– Transfer
• Broadcast– Who controls the
event and the contents?
• Multicast– Who can receive?– How many?
• Unicast– Repetition process
• Measure– No of people consciously
aware as a function of time
Spread of information
• Media• Web• Phases
– Rise– Decay
• Many factors determine the time constants 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
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Spread of Information
• Rise Phase– Triggers
• Current sensitivities
– Mechanisms• Media• Web• Word of Mouth
• Decay Phase– Authenticity ?– Other information
competing for attention– Time
Information Butterfly Effect !!
Controlling Butterfly Effect
• Rise Phase– Blocking flow of
information– Dictatorships
• Decay Phase– Quick challenge to
authenticity– Offer competing
information to grab attention
Sharing of information
• Trust • Handling conflicting information
• Creating a consistent view
World Wide Web
• Easy Accessibility to HUGE amount of information
• Most of the information generated for the Web• Broad Band Access by a large number of people• Web servers backed up by databases of mostly
web pages
Live vs. Archived
• Live– Collected directly in digital form– As it happens
• Text, Audio, Video, Sensor data, …
• Archived– Saved as collection of records
Other information
• Specific Databases– Law Enforcement– Healthcare– Credit bureaus– Personnel Records– Census Bureau– Financial record– Telephone Records
• Hundreds of thousands of such databases exist
• Contain a lot of data collected as a part of normal operation of an entity• Business• Government• Private operations
• Duplication of a lot of records with little controls
Example – Law Enforcement
• Many organizations– Federal– State– Local– Special– Private
• Each organization– Collects data and stores it– Controls access to it– Has to conforms to laws,
policies and practices
• Sharing of information– Exception rather than a
norm
• Attempts have been made to create “Fusion Centers”– Hardly successful
• You Don’t know what you know
• You Don’t know what you don’t know
InformationFuture
• Assumptions– Unlimited availability
of• Processing Power• Storage• Bandwidth
Anywhere/Anytime
• We are still in the initial transient phase of information revolution
Note that Human Capacity to Assimilate has not increased
Impact on Education
• Role of a Teacher• What should we be
teaching?• What should a student
take for granted?– Calculator? – Web Access?
• Ability for– Assimilation– Abstraction– Cooperation
• Increased Awareness– Changing the world
view
Impact on Society
• Social Interaction– Cell Phones– SMS– Social Networks
• All Aspects are impacted
Impact on Work Environment
• White Collar Worker/Information Worker– Not tied to a location– Employer optimizes ROI – National boundaries have little meaning or impact
Impact on Politics
• National– We are seeing some of it this year in presidential election– What is a national interest
• Internationally– Flow of information is making events known globally– What is the meaning of national boundaries
Resource Constrained World
• With limited resources– Information will play an ever increasing role
• Decisions will require a higher degree of awareness• Cooperation rather than confrontation
Concluding Remarks
• Tip of the Iceberg• Change is occurring faster than the society can adapt to it• Proactive vs. Reactive Participation
• So What is information??– That is a topic for another day
Information Butterfly Effect
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 210
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