Forum looks at pros, cons of digital world

At the University, computers profoundly affect students' lives, from their dealings with Maple to communication via e-mail. On Friday, the Engineering School sponsored a forum for students on their rights and responsibilities in the digital world. Daniel Weitzner, senior staff counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Washington, discussed the government's role in controlling the flow of information – from mass media to the "new electronic forum, one that is somewhat more interactive, potentially, than the old media." Paul Mosher, vice provost and director of libraries, warned of the effects of feelings that might encourage "technological nearsightedness" in which people would get caught up in the new technology and lose sight of reality. Mosher also said he worried about economic interests having too much control over the new forms of media and the belief that "anything extremely clever ought to have its way." Hiroshi Inose, director general of the National Center for Science Information Systems in Tokyo, agreed with the other speakers, adding he felt the issue of rights and responsibility was "one of the worldwide problems." "We have to be responsible to provide information to people with needs," he said. Inose is also the 1992-1993 recipient of the Moore School's annual Pender Award for contributors to the engineering community. The talk was moderated by David Farber, director of the Center for Communications and Information Science and Policy.