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DIAC '94: Developing An Equitable and Open Information Infrastructure

by Coralee Whitcomb
DIAC Conference Chair, CPSR/Boston

CPSR News Volume 12, Number 3: Summer 1994

Dear Sirs:

Let me express that I approve the very idea of your forthcoming 2-day forum. I can neither enter the CPSR nor be present at any meetings (due to poor financing in my country). But I'm happy that rather a number of professionals are gathering to discuss the problem in full. I lecture on the Psychology of Information Technologies usage and I am to show my students both the disasters and benefits of new technologies ad vent. Wish you full success,

Faithfully, Alexander Voiskounsky, Moscow University We had received inquiries from all over the world, but somehow this one drove home the sheer power this new form of communication holds. This event, much of it planned and put into place from my living room, in pajamas at 2 in the morning, had reached beyond the old iron curtain to a compatriot in Russia.

This was the fifth DIAC . Doug Schuler of Seattle, and our new board chairman, is the "father" of DIAC. He both created the event and has served as the main organizer at each one. Over the years, DIAC has developed an extremely respectable reputation throughout the professional and academic communities. A funding base has been developed, and this year we received over $3000 in unsolicited contributions from Apple Libraries and the Morino Foundation. An additional $10,000 was granted by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation through the efforts of the Washington Office.

We organized this year's DIAC with specific objectives in mind. We wanted to produce a high visibility conference that would solidify the identity CPSR is developing within the NII arena. We also wanted to be sure that our conference was as inclusive as our NII principles claim, so we attempted major outreach to non-technical communities that have much at stake in the final shape of our information infrastructure. To that end we wanted to produce a conference that was both instructive and grounded in the public interest point of view. Saturday's program opened with Beverly Hunter of Bolt, Beranek, and Newmann giving one of the best overviews of the NII that I've ever heard. It clearly described both the mechanical and philosophical issues involved in the design of the NII. She was followed by a panel on policy that included Patrice McDermott, a policy analyst of OMB Watch, Stan Kugel, General Manager of Pilgrim Telephone, and Jamie Love, Director of the Taxpayers Assets Project.

Herbert Schiller followed with a critical and extremely entertaining viewpoint on all the hype that we're dealing with. There were many comments afterward using the word "refreshing". After lunch we heard about the changing nature and role of citizenship from Benjamin Barber, who was followed by a panel on the media and its role in providing the content of the future. The panelists included Lauren- Glen Davitian of Deep Dish TV, Walther Bender, Director of Information Technology at the MIT Media Lab, and Jeff Chester, co-director of the Center for Media Education. The last panel of the day focussed on the role of grassroot efforts at bringing the NII into local reality. This panel consisted of Tom Grundner of the National Public Telecomputing Network and founder of the Free-Net Movement, Antonia Stone, founder of Playing to Win, and Joyce Freeling, founder of the Legacy Project.

As is the typical organizer's plight, I was not able to see much of the program. The little I did see was well presented with new twists and turns to the issues and approaches we have come to expect in this area. Fortunately, we have produced a two-hour video of the highlights from that day.

The second day consisted of a panel of representatives from the educational, disabled, and labor movements discussing the realities of NII in their respective worlds. In addition to the panel, there were 32 workshops presented throughout the day. They were organized into 8 streams; nonprofits, access/outreach, policy, cyberspace, rhetoric and metaphor, culture, free speech, and constituencies. Again, the reports coming from the workshops were raves. There were fascinating topics and presenters including Rachelle Hollander of the NSF, Anne Levinson Penway of the American Library Association, and Thomas Kalil of the White House Economic Council. The only drawback to this cornucopia of choice was that no one could see everything. Again, we did our best to record as much as possible and we now have a number of the workshops available on video.

This year's DIAC attracted over 300 people on a beautiful spring weekend. We produced many educational materials that will continue to serve CPSR's program goals. And we were able, I believe, to fulfill our mission of raising the level of interest and understanding of NII issues to a broader public than is usually involved. I know that if Alexander Voiskounsky had been able to make it, he would have been pleased. Hopefully, he'll find the conference materials useful.

DOING DIAC: AN ORGANIZER'S VIEW

There was a lot more to DIAC than two days filled with excellent program on the National Information Infrastructure. At the outset of the planning process, we identified a number of objectives for this project to serve. These were: I ) To create relationships with local, non-technical constituencies that will be affected by the NII: K-12 education, libraries, community media, local government, health and human services, labor, and community organizations, 2) To develop an awareness in the local media and universities of CPSR's expertise and involvement in the NII issues, and 3) To develop a solid set of educational materials that can be shared by all chapters and distributed nationally to further educate the American public about the techno/socio implications of the NII.

I believe we accomplished all three goals. We called and wrote every professional association we could find in the groups listed above. We invited them to be endorsers, gave them tree passes to attend, attended meetings, and created friendships. Through these efforts the Boston chapter now has invitations to speak at several of their conferences and to collaborate on various statewide projects, and has become a non-intimidating colleague in the pursuit of greater technological equity.

The local press was keenly aware of the conference. Most of the attending reporters requested press passes before the press release was sent out. A reporter from the Boston Herald was so inspired by a follow-up telephone call that he wrote a piece on DIAC minutes before deadline on Friday even though he was not able to actually attend. We've had a number of guest speaker engagements at local universities (including Harvard) as the year-end "big-picture" wrap-up.

CPSR has generally aspired to have expertise exist within chapters all over the country. Ideally, we would have speakers at the ready to serve local needs and sources available for quotes to the local press. The main drawback was our limited resources for developing the materials necessary to produce these local "experts." Over the past year, through many efforts, these materials now exist. Anyone can come up to speed on the current state of the NII discussion from CPSR materials alone. For the first time, we now have a real foundation on which to build a nationwide speaker's bureau.

Organizing the DIAC conference gave the Boston Chapter the motivation and vehicle through which we have now become a highly visible and effective player on the local level. I would urge other chapters to consider organizing conferences similar to the DIAC conference as a means of developing a local identity and vital role in serving the CPSR agenda. Most of the NII action takes place on the coasts. We received literally hundreds of inquiries for materials from people desperate to know more but unable to make the trip. Interest is high everywhere. The topic is hot and there simply cannot be too many opportunities to join the discussion. Beside program material, we have developed a set of "how to" materials for organizing events. The Boston experience shows that CPSR is the perfect organization to transport the NII decision making process beyond the beltway to the America it will serve.

DIAC-94 CONFERENCE MATERIALS AVAILABLE

Developing and Equitable and Open Information Infrastructure

CPSR's Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing (DIAC) biannual conferences are explorations of the promises and threats stemming from computer technology. DIAC-94 was a two-day symposium dedicated to public interest issues related to the National Information Infrastructure (NII), the proposed next-generation "Information Superhighway." Academia, libraries, government agencies, media, and telecommunications companies, as well as public interest groups and the general public, all have a stake in the current development. Videotapes and proceedings from this conference are now available.

PROCEEDINGS

Conference proceedings are available from the CPSR National Office. They include the proposals for over 30 workshops presented at the conference and abstracts from the invited speakers. Also included are essays on Democratizing Technology by Richard Sclove and Universal Access: Making Sure That Everyone Has a Chance by Steve Miller, the CPSR policy paper, Serving the Community: A Public- Interest Vision of the National Information Infrastructure, and a set of CPSR-generated questions submitted to Vice President Gore at the National Press Club Luncheon.

Proceedings are available for $25. To order, send a check made out to "CPSR" and send to: CPSR, P.O. Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 94302-0171. For more information call or write: 415-322-3778 or cpsr@cpsr.org

LTSTSERV

For those that couldn't attend DIAC-94 and for those who want to continue attending, we've established the "DIAC Virtual Conference," a listserv that we'll use to continue the discussion. Since there were over 30 workshops, too many for anybody to attend, the convertors and and participants were encouraged to work together towards some objectives and to record their findings. These findings, preliminary, final, or just plain guess-work, will be made available on the list. In this way, those that couldn't participate can still join in.

To join the virtual conference, send mail to listserv@cpsr.org with the message: SUBSCRIBE DIAC . To post to the list, send mail to diac@cpsr.org.

VIDEOS The following videos are available for $20 per tape ordered (the cost of reproduction and distribution). All tapes are on standard VHS format. To order, send a check made out to "CPSR/Boston" and the code and names of the videos you want to: CPSR/Boston, PO Box 962, Cambridge, MA 02142- 0008

A0: "WHO WILL BE HEARD?" ACESS TO THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY: Patrice McDermott, OMB Watch, Herbert Schiller, University of California at San Diego, Benjamin Barber, Rutgers University, Jeffrey Chester, Center for Media Education, Lauren-Glenn Davitian, Alliance for Community Media, Tom Grundner, National Public Telecomputing Network This video is a 2-hour edited summary of the invited speakers from the first day of the conference. For viewers a good overview of the conference, this tape is recommended.

A1: CONSTITUENCY PLENARY: Bill Johnson, Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications, Elaine Bernard, Harvard Trade Union Program, Earl Hancock, MassCUE, Joseph Lazzaro, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, Michael Roberts, Freedom House. A cross-section of successes and disappointments experienced by K- 12 educators, labor, disabled, and community organizations.

A2: PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION / MEDIA ARTS CENTERS: MODELS FOR COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: Rika Welsh, Susie Walsh, Abigail Norman, Susan Fleischmann, Cambridge Community Television. Public access television began 20 years ago, the result of hard work by activists. With the advent of emerging technologies, how do we ensure that those who do not have access to traditional, mainstream media and technologies are provided a forum to express themselves, their cultures, political and social beliefs, and to communicate and interact with others? How can access television provide a model that would work for computer professionals to help ensure that the communities that we now serve will have comparable access to the emerging communications technologies?

H2. PC's EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES: Joseph J. Lazzaro, Massachusetts Commission For The Blind. For persons with disabilities, the on-line community represents an electronic bill of rights and a new found freedom. The workshop focuses on how to adapt personal computers for individuals with vision, hearing, and motor disabilities. Basic concepts of computer modifications that are common across hardware platforms are highlighted.

B3: INFORMED PARTICIPATION AND THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: Thomas A. Kalil, The White House, John Mallery, Joshua Cohen, MIT. How can digital computer networks could be used to improve the policymaking process in government? Kalil reviews opportunities for public input into decisional processes. Mallery discusses several technologies that might be applied to public access. Finally, Cohen comments and guidse the discussion, focusing on the need to ensure fair access to public discussion and to avoid the imposition of new barriers to entry.

B4. PLAYING TO WIN AND THE COMMUNITY COMPUTING CENTER MOVEMENT: Antonia Stone and Peter Miller. The growth of the community computing center movementÑlow-income neighborhood centers which provide computer training, access and integration into community programsÑis one response to buidling a democratic NII.

B5. THE GREATER BOSTON COMMUNITY-WIDE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION SERVICES ORGANIZING PROJECT (CWEIS): Marlene Archer, The Boston Computer Society. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for the CWEIS Organizing Committee used this workshop to get help defining the Boston community on-line service.

C2. MEASURING THE NII: Richard Civille, Ann Bishop Introduces the issues and techniques related to collecting data on NII use and impacts. Participants also contributed to the development of appropriate measures and methods for assessing the effectiveness and equitability of NII implementation and outcomes.

C3. POLICY FOR THE GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE (I): William Drake with Herbert Schiller, UCSD. The first session analyzes global and national policy challenges to equitable information infrastructure development. The role of international institutions; intellectual property in a globally networked environment; the role of community networks, and National Information Infrastructure (NII) technology policies will be emphasized.

C4. PUBLIC SERVICES FOR THE GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE (II): Lee McKnight, MIT. In the second session, concrete examples are presented of prototypical NII services along with future application areas. Working with the participants, McKnight identifies critical variables for NII public policies in their global context.

C5: NII: PUBLIC OR PRIVATE? DEFINING RESEARCH PARAMETERS: Sherwood A. Dowling. An introduction to the economic concepts of public goods, privatization and externalities in the context of government information. The ultimate purpose of the workshop is to define one or more testable hypothesis, recognition of policy option points, determination of potential policy impacts, identification of prospective survey participants or other data sources, and enumeration of possible evaluation criteria.

D4. DEMOCRACY IN CYBERSPACE: Amy Bruckman, MIT Media Lab. How is cyberspace to be governed? Commercial service providers require new members to agree to a set of "terms of service" which establishes standards for appropriate conduct. But there are more democratic methods of governance possible.

E1: A POST-MODERN VIEW OF NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: Dr. Bob Barbour, The University of Waikato, New Zealand. Identifies the possible future consequences of applying a post- modernist view to information technology practice as it relates to Nll. The focus of the workshop is to consider how NII can contribute to or inhibit discourse.

E4. THE POLITICAL RHETORIC OF NII: Steve Fuller, University of Pittsburgh. Considers the rhetoric used to knit together various constituencies that are needed to get behind the development of NII. And, examines the extent to which these constituencies, the President, Congress, the military, big business, universities, and "ordinary folks," are likely to benefit from it.

G1: INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM: PARKS, STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND CYBERSPACE? FREE SPEECH IN THE NEW PUBLIC SQUARE: Anne Levinson Penway, ALA, Paul Vermouth, MIT. Librarians have long supported the principles of intellectual freedom in defending library users' rights to have access to ideas and information from all points of view without restriction. How should these principles guide the development of the national information infrastructure?

G3: SECURING THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: NEW CRIMES, CRIMINALS, LOSSES, AND LIABILITIES IN THE POST-HACKER ERA: Santord Sherizen, Data Security Systems, Inc. Less attention seems to have been paid to how to protect information from a growing population of new computer criminals. In the Post-Hacker Era, these criminals include competitors, inside traders, governments, journalists, and "crackers." The current Clipper controversy is only one of a number of information security policy issues that will arise and need informed resolution.

H5. ETHICS, EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT ON THE NII: WHAT SHOULD RESEARCH PRIORITIES BE?: Rachelle D. Hollander, National Science Foundation. The focus of this workshop is on developing research proposals to the Ethics and Values Studies Program, National Science Foundation. EVS is interested in supporting research on ethical and value issues associated with high performance computing and the national information infrastructure. But what topics should have priority? And how should the research be done?

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