A society in which information becomes a commodity is called. Information society its features and characteristics. This is the information society. c) meeting their needs for information products and services
As humanity developed, the role of information in the life of society and the individual constantly increased. The most important human achievements in computerization- This:
- the emergence of writing (about $3000$ years BC, Egypt);
- the invention of printing ($X$ century – China, $XV$ century – Europe);
- means of communication (telegraph, telephone, radio, television; late $XIX$ - early $XX$ centuries).
Now it is believed that we are gradually moving from an industrial society to a post-industrial (information) society.
Definition 1
Information society– this is a stage of development of civilization at which information and knowledge become the main products of production.
Definition 2
The transition to an information society is often called informatization.
Japan, the USA and some European countries (for example, Germany) have already moved closer to the information society. This can be judged by the following signs:
- introduction of computers and information technologies in all areas of life;
- development of means of communication (communications);
- teaching computer literacy to any person;
- freedom of access to any information;
- development of distance education using the Internet;
- changes in the economic structure from the point of view of informatization;
- changing the way of life of people (communication via the Internet, social networks, online stores, e-commerce...).
Note 1
As a result of industrialization, machines replaced humans, and as a result of informatization, computers begin to independently collect and process information, replacing the mental work of people.
On the one hand, the transition to an information society makes people's lives easier, because all routine work is performed by a computer. On the other hand, there are also negative consequences:
- increasing the influence of the media (through mass information, a group of people can influence the human masses, which leads to tourist acts);
- as a result of the availability of information, the privacy of people and entire organizations is destroyed;
- the gigantic flow of information makes it difficult to determine its reliability;
- personal communication is increasingly being replaced by communication on the Internet (social networks, chats, blogs...);
- older people cannot adapt to changing conditions.
As a result of informatization, information is accumulated in libraries, banks and databases, which are called information resources country and the world as a whole. Currently, information resources have become a commodity. Many companies provide information services:
- search and selection of information;
- personnel selection;
- education;
- advertising;
- consulting;
- creation of automated information systems and websites.
One of the signs information society -wide introduction of information technologies in all spheres of life.
Definition 3
New information technologies– these are technologies associated with the use of computer technology for storing, protecting, processing and transmitting information.
Information technologies include:
- preparation of documents;
- search for information;
- telecommunications (computer networks; Internet, e-mail);
- automation of control systems (creation and use of automated control systems);
- CAD (implementation of computer-aided design systems);
- geographic information systems (implementation of systems based on maps and satellite images);
- training (computer simulators, distance learning; electronic textbooks, multimedia development).
The increasing role of information in modern society requires from each person a certain culture of handling information and information technologies, i.e. information culture.
Information culture of society is the ability of society:
- effectively use information resources and means of information exchange;
- apply achievements and advanced information technologies.
Human information culture is his ability to use modern technologies to solve their problems related to searching and processing information. A modern person should be able to:
- formulate your need for information;
- find necessary information using various sources;
- select and analyze information;
- process information;
- use information to make decisions.
A person’s success depends on his ability to competently work with information.
Concept "information culture" includes the ethics of using information.
Unethical:
- suppress the speech of others;
- threaten someone;
- distribute statements, images, photographs, personal files, opinions of others without their consent;
- preserve authorship;
- "hack" websites mailboxes, personal pages in in social networks, blogs;
- Create malware for the purpose of stealing information.
All of the above is a criminal offense and is punishable by imprisonment for up to $5$ years (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, article $272$).
In Russia there are several stages of informatization of society.
At the first stage ($1991-1994) the foundations in the field of informatization were formed. Second stage ($1994-1998) led to the development of state information policy. Third stage, which continues to this day, is the stage of policy formation in the field of building an information society. In 2008$ it was adopted Strategy for the development of the information society up to $2020$. The expected final result of the Strategy will be the availability of a wide range of opportunities for using information technologies for production, scientific, educational and social purposes. These opportunities will be available to any citizen, regardless of his age, health status, region of residence and any other characteristics. Opportunities to use information technology are ensured through the creation of appropriate infrastructure, provision of digital content and user training.
The informatization of society depends entirely on computerization and the introduction of new means of communication. Information society- a society in which the majority of workers are engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of information, especially its highest form - knowledge.
Note 2
On the one hand, the development of computer technology and communication technologies provides ample opportunities and apparent complete freedom. On the other hand, in the information society, all the rules of law and morality that humanity has developed throughout history continue to apply.
The name “information society” first appeared in Japan. The experts who proposed this term explained that it defines a society in which high-quality information circulates in abundance, and also has everything necessary funds for its storage, distribution and use. Information is easily and quickly distributed according to the requirements of interested people and organizations and is given to them in a form familiar to them. The cost of using information services is so low that they are available to everyone.
A more formalized definition of the information society is given by sociology. In the history of its development, human civilization has gone through several socio-economic stages:
Agrarian Society;
Industrial society;
Post-industrial society.
The next stage of development should be called “information society”.
The socio-economic criterion that determines the stage of social development is the distribution of employment of the population. At the stage of an agrarian society, more than half of the population is employed in agriculture; in an industrial society, most of the population works in industry; If in a society more than 50% of the population is employed in the service sector, the post-industrial phase of its development has begun. According to this criterion, the stage of the information society occurs provided that more than half of the population is employed in the field of information-intellectual production and services.
The socio-economic criterion is not the only one. An interesting criterion was proposed by Academician A.P. Ershov: the phases of progress towards the information society should be judged by the total capacity of communication channels. There is a simple thought behind this: the development of communication channels reflects both the level of computerization and the objective need of society for all types of information exchange, and other manifestations of informatization. According to this criterion, the early phase of informatization of society begins when the total capacity of communication channels operating in it is reached, ensuring the deployment of a sufficiently reliable long-distance telephone network. The final phase is when it is possible to implement reliable and prompt information contact between members of society on the principle of “everyone with everyone”. In the final phase throughput There should be a million times more communication channels than in the first phase.
According to a number of experts, the United States will complete the overall transition to an information society by 2020, Japan and most Western European countries by 2030–2040.
Russia's entry into the information society has its own characteristics associated with the current stage of its development. In Russia there are a number of objective prerequisites for the transition to an information society. Among them: the rapid development of the material base of the information sphere, informatization of many branches of production and management, active entry into the world community, preparedness of public consciousness, etc. It is important that Russia’s movement towards the information society is being implemented by the state as a strategic, priority goal, the achievement of which is facilitated by a fairly high personnel and scientific-technical potential of Russia.
Trends in the development of the information society
Changing economic structure and labor structure
The transition to an information society is accompanied by a shift in the center of gravity in the economy from the use of materials to the provision of services, which entails a significant reduction in the extraction and processing of raw materials and energy consumption.
The second half of the twentieth century, thanks to informatization, was accompanied by a flow of people from the sphere of direct material production into the information sphere. Industrial workers, who made up more than 2/3 of the population in the mid-twentieth century, now make up less than 1/3 in developed countries. The social stratum has grown significantly, which is called “white collar workers” - people of hired labor who do not directly produce material assets, but are engaged in processing information (in a broad sense): teachers, bank employees, programmers, etc. Thus, by 1980, 3% of the workforce was employed in US agriculture, 20% in industry, 30% in the service sector, and 48% of the population was employed in the information sector.
Informatization has also changed the nature of work in traditional industries. The emergence of robotic systems and the widespread introduction of elements of microprocessor technology is the main reason for this phenomenon. The machine tool industry in the United States employed 330 thousand people in 1990, and by 2005 there were 14 thousand people left. This happened due to the massive reduction of people on assembly lines, due to the introduction of robots and manipulators instead.
Another characteristic feature in this area is the emergence of a developed market for information products and services.
Development and mass use of information and communication technologies
The information revolution is based on explosive development information And communication technologies. In this process, a feedback loop is clearly observed: the movement towards the information society sharply accelerates the development of these technologies, making them widely in demand.
However, the rapid growth in the production of computer equipment, which began in the mid-twentieth century, did not in itself cause the transition to the information society. Computers were used by a relatively small number of specialists as long as they existed in isolation. The most important stages on the path to the information society were:
· creation of telecommunications infrastructure, including data transmission networks;
· the emergence of huge databases, accessed through networks by millions of people;
· development of uniform rules for behavior in networks and searching for information in them.
Played a huge role in the process under discussion creation of the Internet. Today, the Internet is a colossal and rapidly growing system, the number of users of which by the beginning of 2007 exceeded 1 billion people. It should be noted that the quantitative characteristics of the Internet become outdated faster than the books in which these indicators are given are printed.
The growth rate of the number of network users is fairly stable at about 20% per year. The United States ranks first in the number of Internet users - approximately 200 million Americans are connected to global network(all data as of the beginning of 2007). In second and third places are China and Japan with 111 and 87 million users, respectively. In Russia, the number of people connected to the Internet is 21.8 million, which is 17.5 percent more than in the previous year. This indicator allowed Russia to take 11th place in the ranking of the most Internetized countries. It should be noted, however, that “connected” does not mean “regularly used”; In statistics of this kind throughout the world there are difficulties in interpreting the data.
According to some indicators related to the Internet, our country is among the leaders. Thus, in terms of the number of users of fiber optic networks, Russia ranks first in Europe. This is explained by the fact that with the relatively late start of mass Internetization Russian providers it was easier to develop new and technologically more advanced channels for accessing the Network than to modernize existing ones.
Information and communication technologies are constantly evolving. Gradually it happens universalization of leading technologies, i.e. Instead of creating its own technology to solve each problem, they are developing powerful, universal technologies that allow for many use cases. An example of this is office software systems, in which you can perform a wide variety of actions - from simple typing to the creation of fairly specialized programs (say, payroll using a spreadsheet processor).
The universalization of information technologies contributes to widespread use of multimedia. Modern multimedia system is capable of combining the functions of, for example, a computer, television, radio, multi-projector, telephone, answering machine, fax, while providing access to data networks.
Improvements in computing technology lead to the personalization and miniaturization of information storage devices. Tiny devices that fit in the palm of your hand and have all the functions of a personal computer allow a person to acquire his own universal reference book, the volume of information of which is comparable to several encyclopedias. Since this device can be connected to the network, it also transmits operational data - for example, about the weather, current time, traffic jams, etc.
Overcoming the information crisis
The information crisis is a phenomenon that became noticeable already at the beginning of the twentieth century. It manifests itself in the fact that the flow of information that pours into a person is so great that it is inaccessible to processing in an acceptable time. This phenomenon occurs both in scientific research and in technical developments, and in socio-political life. In our increasingly complex world, decision-making is becoming an increasingly responsible matter, and it is impossible without complete information.
The accumulation of total knowledge is accelerating at an astonishing rate. At the beginning of the 20th century, the total volume of all information produced by humanity doubled every 50 years, by 1950 the doubling occurred every 10 years, by the end of the 20th century - already every 5 years, and this, apparently, is not the limit.
Here are a few examples of manifestations information explosion. The number of scientific publications in most branches of knowledge is so large, and traditional access to them (reading journals) is so difficult that specialists cannot keep up with them, which gives rise to duplication of work and other unpleasant consequences.
It often turns out that it is easier to re-engineer some technical device, than to find documentation about it in countless descriptions and patents.
A political leader who makes a responsible decision at a high level, but does not have complete information, will easily get into trouble, and the consequences can be catastrophic. Of course, information alone is not enough in such a matter; adequate methods of political analysis are also needed, but without information they are useless.
As a result comes information crisis, manifested in the following:
· the information flow exceeds a person’s ability to perceive and process information;
· arises a large number of excessive information (the so-called “information noise”), which makes it difficult to perceive information useful to the consumer;
· economic, political and other barriers that impede the dissemination of information are strengthened (for example, due to secrecy).
A partial way out of the information crisis is seen in the use of new information technologies. The introduction of modern means and methods of storing, processing and transmitting information greatly reduces the barrier to access and the speed of search. Of course, technology alone cannot solve a problem that has an economic nature (information costs money), a legal one (information has an owner), and a number of others. This problem is complex, so it must be solved through the efforts of both each country and the world community as a whole.
Freedom of access to information and freedom of its dissemination
The problem under discussion lies more in the political and economic plane than in the technical one, since modern information technologies have purely technically opened up limitless scope for information exchanges. Without freedom of access to information, the information society is impossible. Freedom of access to information and freedom of its dissemination is a prerequisite for democratic development, promoting economic growth and fair competition in the market. Only relying on complete and reliable information can one make correct and informed decisions in politics, economics, science, and practical activities.
Freedom of dissemination of information of a cultural and educational nature is of great importance. It contributes to the growth of the cultural and educational level of society.
At the same time, the problem of freedom of access to information also has the opposite side. Not all information of state, corporate or personal importance should be freely disseminated. Every person has the right to personal secrets; in the same way, a state or a corporation has secrets that are vital to its existence. There should be no freedom to disseminate information that promotes violence and other phenomena unacceptable to society and the individual. Finding a compromise between freedom of access to information and inevitable restrictions is not an easy task.
The growth of information culture
The modern understanding of information culture is the ability and need of a person to work with information using new information technologies.
Purposeful efforts of society and the state to develop the information culture of the population are mandatory when moving towards an information society. One of the important tasks of the computer science course is to develop elements of the information culture of students. This task is complex and cannot be solved by schools alone. The development of elements of information culture should begin in childhood, in the family, and then pass through the entire conscious life of a person, through the entire system of education and upbringing.
Information culture includes much more than a simple set of technical skills for processing information using computers and telecommunications. Information culture must become part of universal human culture. A cultured (in the broad sense) person must be able to evaluate the information received qualitatively, understand its usefulness, reliability, etc.
An essential element of information culture is mastery of collective decision-making techniques. The ability to interact in the information field with other people is an important sign of a member of the information society.
Changes in education
Great changes are taking place as we move towards an information society in the field of education. One of the fundamental problems facing modern education is to make it more accessible to every person. This accessibility has economic, social and technological aspects.
However, the problems of building an education system in the information society are not limited to technology. Due to its dynamism, this society will require continuous training from its members over decades. This will allow a person to keep up with the times, be able to change professions, and take a worthy place in the social structure of society. In connection with this, a new concept even arose: the “principle of lifelong professional development.” Economically developed countries have already embarked on the path of creating a system of lifelong education, including preschool and school education, professional education, system professional retraining and advanced training, additional education (sometimes informal), etc. The level of quantitative and qualitative development of the educational system allows us to judge the degree of progress of the country along the path to the information society.
Changing people's lifestyles
The formation of the information society significantly affects people's daily lives. Based on the examples already available, it can be foreseen that the changes will be profound. So, mass implementation television in the 60–70s of the twentieth century significantly changed people’s lives, and not only for the better. On the one hand, millions of people now have the opportunity to access the treasures of national and world culture, on the other hand, it has decreased live communication, more stereotypes instilled by television appeared, and the circle of reading narrowed.
Let us consider the individual components of the way of life, analyzing what has already happened and what is emerging in our time.
Job. According to a sociological study conducted in the United States, up to 10% of workers can already do their work without leaving home, and 1/3 of all newly registered companies are based on the widespread use of self-employment, which does not involve regularly coming to the office.
Studies. In a number of countries, the number of children who do not attend school and are taught at home with the help of computer programs and telecommunications is increasing. If this trend continues, the school will face the most serious danger since its inception as a mass public institution. If we consider that school not only teaches, but also instills in children the skills of socialization and social behavior, then such development causes a certain concern.
Leisure activities are changing before our eyes. Computer games, which already occupy a significant amount of time for some people, are being transformed into network games with the participation of several remote partners. The time spent “walking” on the Internet without a specific goal, as well as on the so-called “chat”, with not very meaningful exchange of messages, is growing. At the same time, educational trips to educational sites, virtual museums, etc. are also implemented. As mentioned above, information culture is only a part of universal human culture, and the form of leisure is determined primarily by the general culture of a particular person.
A recent achievement in Internet technology is shopping trip the transfer of real goods to a virtual online store is already beginning to have a noticeable impact on the trading system.
The human home tends to become increasingly “informatized.” Houses are already being put into operation, in which, instead of a wiring harness (electrical wiring, telephone, television, security and fire alarm etc.) only one power cable and one data cable are included. The latter takes care of all information communications, including the provision of many cable television channels, Internet access, etc. A special electronic unit in such an apartment will control all devices, including household appliances and life support systems, and help the inhabitant of the apartment live as comfortably as possible. Such a house is called “smart”.
Since for many people the car has become an extension of their environment, the emergence of “ smart cars" also important. Such a car, in addition to the already mandatory microprocessor devices that serve its technical part, is constantly connected with city information services, which suggest the most optimal route at the moment (taking into account how busy the roads are). In addition, a “smart” car is connected to its owner’s “smart house” and this house can be controlled from it.
Dangers of the Information Society
While admiring the opportunities that the information society brings, we should not forget about the contradictions that it potentially contains and that are already emerging.
It should be understood that the concept of “information society” does not lie in the same circle of concepts that are associated with the concepts of “capitalism”, “socialism”, etc., i.e. does not directly indicate the nature of property relations and the economic structure. Likewise, it should not be perceived as just another utopia promising universal happiness.
Let us list some dangers and problems on the way to the information society:
· the real possibility of destruction by information technologies of the private lives of people and organizations;
· the danger of ever-increasing influence on society from the media and those who control these media;
· the problem of selecting quality and reliable information with a large volume;
· the problem of adaptation of many people to the environment of the information society, to the need to constantly improve their professional level;
· collision with virtual reality, in which illusion and reality are difficult to distinguish, creates in some people, especially young people, little studied, but clearly unfavorable psychological problems;
· the transition to an information society does not promise any changes in social benefits and preserves the social stratification of people; Moreover, information inequality can add to existing types of inequality and thereby increase social tension;
· the reduction in the number of jobs in the economies of developed countries, which is not fully compensated by the creation of new jobs in the information sector, leads to a dangerous social illness - mass unemployment.
An extreme manifestation of the negative consequences of the transition to the information society are the so-called “ information wars" This term is interpreted as the open or hidden information impact of state systems on each other in order to obtain a certain gain in political or material sphere. The main targets of defeat in such wars will be the enemy’s information infrastructure and psychology.
Information warfare is understood as a complex impact on the system of state and military control of the opposing side, on its military-political leadership. In principle, this influence should, even in peacetime, lead to the adoption of favorable (for the party initiating the information pressure) decisions, and during the conflict, completely paralyze the functioning of the enemy’s command and control infrastructure. Information warfare, which precedes information war, is implemented by influencing the enemy’s information and information systems while simultaneously strengthening and protecting one’s own information and information systems and infrastructure. At a certain stage, information warfare can turn into conventional warfare, with the use of traditional weapons to suppress a weakened enemy. Unfortunately, examples of successful information wars has already.
4. The concept of the information society. Main features and development trends.
Information society- this is a stage in the development of modern civilization, characterized by an increasing role of information and knowledge in the life of society, an increasing share of information and communication technologies, information products and services in the gross domestic product, the creation of a global information infrastructure that ensures effective information interaction people, their access to information and the satisfaction of their social and personal needs for information products and services.
Distinctive features:
increasing the role of information, knowledge and information technologies in the life of society;
an increase in the number of people employed in information technology, communications and the production of information products and services, an increase in their share in the gross domestic product;
the growing informatization of society using telephony, radio, television, the Internet, as well as traditional and electronic media;
creation of a global information space that ensures: (a) effective information interaction between people, (b) their access to global information resources and (c) satisfaction of their needs for information products and services;
development of electronic democracy, information economy, electronic state, electronic government, digital markets, electronic social and economic networks;
Development trends.
First trend- this is the formation of a new historical type of civil property - intellectual property, which is at the same time the public property of the entire population of the planet.
Intellectual property, unlike material objects, by its nature is not alienated either from its creator or from the one who uses it. Consequently, this property is both individual and social, i.e., the common property of citizens.
Next trend- this is a restructuring of labor motivation (for example, in cyberspace everyone can act simultaneously as a producer of information, a publisher and a distributor).
Next, it should be noted radical change in social differentiation the information society itself, dividing it not into classes, but into weakly differentiated information communities. And this is primarily due to access to knowledge and a variety of information for wide sections of the planet's population.
Now knowledge is not the prerogative of the rich, noble, successful. The boundaries between traditional classes are gradually being blurred
Next trend- this is the broad participation of sections of the population in the processes of preparation, adoption and implementation of management decisions, as well as in control over their implementation. For example, this primarily concerns electronic voting in elections to local authorities.
In general we can conclude, which in their totality and in a generalized form are observed two interrelated trends development of the information society. The first consists of civil socialization economic structures and private property relations, in limiting government power. Socialization does not lead to the destruction of capital, but to a change in its character, giving it certain social and civilized forms. This limits and suppresses his egoistic traits. And this process in one form or another (“cooperative”, “joint-stock”) has taken its proper place in most developed countries. The second trend is individualization economic and social processes, filling them with diverse personal content (people are increasingly staying at home, working from home).
Less than a century ago, a person received about 15 thousand per week. Now we receive about ten thousand messages every hour. And among all this information flow it is very difficult to find the necessary message, but doing nothing is just one of the negative characteristics modern information society.
Characteristics
So, what is the information society? This is a society in which the bulk of workers are engaged in the production, storage or processing of information. At this stage of development, the information society has a number of distinctive characteristics:
- Information, knowledge and technology are of great importance in the life of society.
- Every year the number of people engaged in the production of information products, communications or information technologies increases.
- The informatization of society is increasing, with the use of telephones, television, the Internet, and the media.
- A global information space is being created that ensures effective interaction between individuals. People gain access to global information resources. Within the created information space, each participant satisfies his or her needs for information products or services.
- Electronic democracy, the information state and government are developing rapidly, and digital markets for social and economic networks are emerging.
Terminology
The first to define what the information society is were scientists from Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, this term began to be used in the 60s of the last century. Almost simultaneously with them, the term “information society” began to be used by scientists from the United States. Authors such as M. Porat, I. Masuda, R. Karz and others made a great contribution to the development of this theory. This theory received support from those researchers who studied the formation of a technogenic or technological society, as well as from those who studied changes in society, which is influenced by the increased role of knowledge.
Already at the end of the twentieth century, the term “information society” firmly took its place in the vocabulary of infosphere specialists, politicians, scientists, economists and teachers. Most often it was associated with the development of information technology and other means that would help humanity make a new leap in evolutionary development.
Today there are two opinions regarding what the information society is:
- This is a society where the production and consumption of information is considered the main activity, and information is the most significant resource.
- This is a society that has replaced the post-industrial one, the main product here is information and knowledge, and the information economy is actively developing.
It is also believed that the concept of the information society is nothing more than a variation of the theory of post-industrial society. Consequently, it can be considered as a sociological and futurological concept, where the main factor in social development is the production and use of scientific and technical information.
Come to a consensus
Considering how much information technology has infiltrated everyday life, these consequences are often called the information or computer revolution. Western teachings are paying more and more attention to this phenomenon, as evidenced by the vast number of relevant publications. However, it is worth noting that the concept of “information society” is placed in the place where the theory of post-industrial society was in the 70s.
Some scientists believe that post-industrial and information societies are completely different stages of development, so a clear line must be drawn between them. Despite the fact that the concept of the information society was called upon to replace the theory of a post-industrial society, its proponents are still developing important provisions of technocracy and futurology.
D. Bell, who formulated the theory of post-industrial society, considers the concept of the information society to be a new stage in the development of post-industrial society. Simply put, the scientist insists that the information society is the second level of post-industrial development, so these concepts should not be confused or replaced.
James Martin. Information Society Criteria
The writer believes that the information society must meet several criteria:
- Technological. Information technologies are used in various spheres of human activity.
- Social. Information is an important stimulator for changing the quality of life. A concept such as “information consciousness” appears, since knowledge is widely available.
- Economic. Information becomes the main resource in economic relations.
- Political. Freedom of information, which leads to the political process.
- Cultural. Information is considered cultural property.
The development of the information society brings with it a number of changes. Thus, structural changes in the economy can be observed, especially when it comes to the distribution of labor. People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of information and technology. Many are beginning to realize that for a full-fledged existence it is necessary to eliminate their own computer illiteracy, since information technologies are present in almost all spheres of life. The government strongly supports the development of information and technology, but along with it, malware and computer viruses develop.
Martin believes that in the information society, the quality of life directly depends on information and how a person uses it. In such a society, all spheres of human life are influenced by advances in knowledge and information.
Good and bad
Scientists believe that the development of information technology in society makes it possible to manage large complexes of organizations, produce systems and coordinate the work of thousands of people. New scientific directions related to the problems of organizational sets continue to develop.
And yet, the process of informatization of society has its drawbacks. Society is losing its stability. Small groups of people can have a direct influence on the information society agenda. For example, hackers can hack into banking systems and transfer large sums of money into their accounts. Or the media may cover the problems of terrorism, which have a destructive impact on the formation of public consciousness.
Information revolutions
- Spread of language.
- The emergence of writing.
- Mass printing of books.
- Applications of various types of electrical communications.
- Usage computer technology.
A. Rakitov emphasizes that the role of the information society in the near future will be to influence civilizational and cultural processes. Knowledge will become the most significant stake in the global competition for power.
Peculiarities
- Individuals can use the information resources of society from anywhere in the country. That is, from anywhere they can access the information they need for their life.
- Information technologies are available to everyone.
- There are infrastructures in society that ensure the creation of the necessary information resources.
- In all industries there is a process of acceleration and automation of work.
- Social structures are changing, and as a result, the scope of information activities and services is expanding.
The information society differs from the industrial society in the rapid growth of new jobs. The economic development segment is dominated by the information industry.
Two questions
The dynamism of technological modernization poses two main questions for society:
- Do people adapt to change?
- Will new technologies create differentiation in society?
During the transition of society to an information society, people may face a significant problem. They will be divided into those who can use new knowledge and technologies, and those who do not have such skills. As a result, information technologies will remain in the hands of a small social group, which will lead to inevitable stratification of society and a struggle for power.
But despite this danger, new technologies can empower citizens by giving them instant access to necessary information. They will provide the opportunity to create, and not just consume, new knowledge and allow you to maintain the anonymity of personal messages. Although, on the other hand, the penetration of information technology into private life poses a threat to the inviolability of personal data. No matter how you look at the information society, the main trends in its development will always cause both a sea of delight and a storm of indignation. As, indeed, in any other area.
Information society: development strategy
When it was recognized that society had switched to new stage development, appropriate steps were required. The authorities of many countries have begun to develop a plan for the development of the information society. For example, in Russia, researchers identify several stages of development:
- First, the foundations were formed in the field of informatization (1991-1994).
- Later, there was a change in priorities from informatization to the creation of an information policy (1994-1998)
- The third stage is the formation of policies in the field of creating an information society (year 2002 - our time).
The state is also interested in developing this process. In 2008, the Russian government adopted a strategy for the development of the information society, which is valid until 2020. The government has set itself the following tasks:
- Creation of information and telecommunications infrastructure to provide on its basis high-quality services for access to information.
- Based on the development of technology, improve the quality of education, medical care and social protection.
- Improving the system of state guarantees of human rights in the information sphere.
- Using information and improve the economy.
- Increase the efficiency of public administration.
- Develop science, technology and engineering to train qualified personnel in the field of information technology.
- Preserve culture, strengthen moral and patriotic principles in the public consciousness, develop a system of cultural and humanitarian education.
- Counteract the use of information technology advances as a threat to the country’s national interests.
To solve such problems, the state apparatus is developing special measures for the development of a new society. Determine benchmark indicators of dynamics and improve policies in the field of use of information technologies. Create favorable conditions for the development of science, technology and equal access of citizens to information.
conclusions
So, what is the information society? This is a theoretical model that is used to describe a new stage of social development that began with the beginning of the information and computer revolution. As technological basis in this society it is not industrial, but information and telecommunications technologies.
This is a society where information is the main economic resource, and due to the pace of development, this sector comes out on top in terms of number of employees, share of GDP and capital investment. A developed infrastructure can be traced that ensures the creation of information resources. This primarily includes education and science. In such a society, intellectual property is the main form of property.
Information is turning into a product of mass consumption. Everyone living in society has access to any type of information; this is guaranteed not only by law, but also by technical capabilities. In addition, new criteria for assessing the level of development of society are emerging. For example, an important criterion is the number of computers, Internet connections, mobile and home phones. By merging telecommunications, computer-electronic and audiovisual technology, a single integrated information system is created in society.
Today, the information society can be regarded as a kind of global phenomenon, which includes: the global information economy, space, infrastructure and legal system. Here, business activity becomes an information and communication environment, the virtual economy and financial system are spreading more and more widely. The information society gives many opportunities, but it did not arise out of nowhere - it is the result of centuries of activity of all mankind.
The information society is the most developed phase of modern civilization, coming as a result of the information and computer revolution, when information technologies, “intelligent” systems, automation and robotization of all spheres and sectors of the economy and management began to be used, the creation of a single, state-of-the-art integrated communication system that provides every person with any information and knowledge, determines radical changes in the entire system of social relations, which ensures the greatest progress and freedom of the individual, the possibility of self-realization.
The formation of the information society occurs simultaneously with the formation of the information and economic space, which in turn is a condition and factor for the transformation of information into a socially significant and accessible resource, as well as an environment for large-scale information interactions.
It is advisable to begin considering the features of the formation of the information society in the Russian Federation by identifying the essence of the theory of the information society and its place in the concept of post-industrialism.
The American economist K. Clark was the first to predict the inevitability of the emergence of information civilization.
in the 40s XX century The term “information society” was proposed by F. Machlup and T. Umesao in the early 60s. The theory of the information society was based on an attempt to analyze and generalize the socio-economic transformations generated by the widespread spread of information technologies.
Basic provisions This theory boils down to the following:
In this context, it is necessary to ask how self-employment is defined and how dependent employment is defined. Conventional definitions are limited. What was intended to protect at-will employees, for example in hauliers, could lead to artists being classified as self-employed. In the worst case scenario, this means that they can no longer be insured through the Social Insurance Fund, and also lose business because their clients cannot pay social insurance contributions for economic reasons.
- The self-expansion of capital is being replaced by the self-expansion of information, the joint use of which leads to the development of new social relations in which the main thing is the right of use, not ownership;
- there is an increase in the speed and efficiency of information processing processes along with a decrease in their cost, which has far-reaching socio-economic consequences;
- Information technology is becoming a determining factor in social change, changing worldviews, values, and social structures.
- information turns from a set of information into the main social and economic resource, qualitatively changing the services of labor and capital, the nature of socio-political activity;
- the variety of goods and services offered to consumers is constantly growing, and the cost of the latter (primarily financial, professional and design services, health care, education and social services) significantly exceeds the cost of goods;
- costs for the acquisition of new information and communication technologies (computers, telecommunications equipment, software, etc.) are higher than for tangible assets.
A number of researchers (A. King, B. Schneider, Club of Rome) identify information and post-industrial
society. It cannot be argued that this approach contains any logical contradiction: D. Bell, considering the periodization of history within the framework of the concept of post-industrial society, noted that although certain periods can be identified, there cannot be strict boundaries between them, since “. .. post-industrial trends do not replace previous social forms as “stages” of social evolution. They often coexist, deepening the complexity of society and the nature of social structure." Accordingly, if we distinguish the information society as a certain historical stage, then we can talk about both its incorporation into post-industrial society and its gradual building on top of it.
V.N. Kostyuk, in his study “The Theory of Evolution and Socio-Economic Processes,” is of the opinion that the future being created today is fundamentally uncertain and is considered as a set of changing alternatives. The post-industrial (information) society is just one of these alternatives. Thus, within the framework of the approach he illuminates, that the process of evolution represents the transition of potential being into being actualized through the exchange of stability, he does not highlight the fundamental differences between post-industrial and information society.
We agree with B.JI's position. Inozemtsev, who proposes to consider the theory of the information society as one of the directions of post-industrialism. One cannot but agree that today, within the framework of the theory of the information society, there are no works on the scale of D. Bell, so it is too early to talk about the emergence of a new global
paradigms in sociology. Theoretical searches are carried out only in the direction of clarifying and detailing the theory of post-industrialism, one of such directions is the theory of the information society.
According to N.N. Moiseev, the information society is “... a society in which the Collective Intelligence (Collective Mind) plays... a role similar to that played by the human mind in his body, that is, it contributes to the development of society and overcoming ever-increasing difficulties. .. and acts for the benefit of all humanity... The Collective Mind objectively becomes a kind of instrument that controls the actions of people.”
These and other definitions emphasize the decisive role of information and knowledge in the process of establishing a new society. The relative importance of information kaT: factor (resource) of production is growing, there is a shift in aggregate demand towards increasing needs for information, potential output increases due to constant update technological base of production, application of new information technologies.
The most important technological element in the development of the information society is the national telecommunications infrastructure, for which organization is extremely necessary effective interaction on a global scale.
Summarizing existing approaches to the interpretation of the concept of “information society”, we can say that it currently means:
- a new type of society emerging as a result of a global social revolution generated by the explosive development and convergence of information and communication technologies;
- a knowledge society in which the main condition for the well-being of every person and state becomes
knowledge gained through unhindered access to information and the ability to work with it; - a global society in which the exchange of information will have no temporal, spatial, or political boundaries; which, on the one hand, promotes the interpenetration of cultures, and on the other, opens up new opportunities for self-identification for each community;
- a society where the acquisition, processing, storage, transmission, distribution, use of knowledge and information play a decisive role, including through interactive interaction, ensuring its constantly improving technical capabilities.
The information society means a new post-industrial socio-economic organization of society with highly developed information infrastructures that create the possibility of objective use of intellectual resources to ensure the sustainable development of civilization.
This interpretation this concept seems more meaningful than definitions that boil down to consideration of the purely technological side of the process of informatization of society. The creation and use of new information and telecommunication technologies is not an end in itself. The transition to an information society involves a significant change in the entire economic system of the state, the formation of an information and economic space, fundamentally new social motivations and technological capabilities, the widespread practical use of innovations and knowledge to intensively increase labor productivity and, on this basis, improve the quality of life.
TO distinctive features information society include:
This applies to visual artists who receive a monthly retainer from their gallery for future sales. There is also the issue of how to qualify the workforce. If normal labor relations decline, it follows that the company's further qualification reaches only a part of the workforce, and it is this part that must be qualified for new work that must be further qualified on its own initiative.
According to the Enquete Commission "The Future of the Media in Business and Society - Germany's Path to the Information Society", the need for further training is one of the basic requirements in the information society. According to the Club of Rome or the Commission for the Future Freedoms of Bavaria and Saxony, some authors also believe that the relationship of work with civil society, that is, non-profit activities in non-profit organizations, acquires everything higher value will win. It is this activity that needs to happen in place of meaningful work.
- increasing the role of information and knowledge in the life of society;
- increasing the share of information products and services in GDP;
- creation of a global information space that ensures effective information interaction between people, access to global information resources and satisfaction of their needs for information products and services."
The increasingly widespread use of information as the main socio-economic resource, leading to the formation of the information society, gives rise to two opposing trends: the movement towards openness, and towards
cover. Consequently, we can talk about an open, closed and mixed information society, combining the features of openness and closure.
An ideal theoretical model would be the model of an open information society, which can be described as “... a society of freely acting, not united in large groups with the same standard of behavior of individuals using a rapidly growing volume of relevant information.” It is a society with a flexible social, economic and political structure in which each individual has access to the information and other resources necessary to freely make his own decisions. As society becomes more open, control over the movement and use of information by the state and certain influential groups is weakened. All relevant information is gradually becoming publicly available. It becomes possible for each individual to have unlimited access to any socially significant information (if this does not violate the rights of other individuals). There is an effect of transparency in the social environment, allowing each citizen to make independent and effective decisions and avoid excessive influence of external (including group) forces on him. The structure of social classes is eroding, and social groups, all of whose members behave in a similar way under the same conditions, are becoming smaller and smaller. The growing openness of society and the increasing degree of individual freedom are not an unconditional blessing. By generating freedom of information and freedom of activity, the openness of society also contributes to the growth of illegal business, corruption of officials, prostitution, drug addiction, banditry and terrorism. The closer an open society is to a primitive one, the more strongly the negative aspects of its openness manifest themselves as one of the sources of the emergence of the opposite tendency towards a closed society and restriction of the individual freedom of citizens. Another source of this tendency is the desire of individuals and social groups to monopolize relevant information and its carriers, turning their possession into a source of non-competitive income.
A completely open society does not exist today, and the prospects for its emergence in the future are vague. In any open society There is a fairly strong tendency towards increasing closedness. This is due to the fact that the benefits of individual freedom and openness become such only at a certain level of well-being and culture of citizens. The elimination of the negative aspects of openness occurs gradually, as social wealth grows and most people fear about its possible loss. The presence of such fears creates the basis for the emergence of a state in which free behavior that does not violate laws and accepted social values is more profitable than violating them, and openness is more profitable than closedness.
World experience shows that each country is moving towards the information society in its own way, determined by the prevailing political, socio-economic and cultural conditions. In developed countries, an effectively functioning market economy has long existed, ensuring the constant growth of information needs and effective demand for information products and services, there is a powerful middle class, which is the main consumer of information services. The economies of these countries have available funds to invest in the development of information and communication infrastructure. Most of them have well-developed infrastructure
production and provision of information products and services to the population, a system has emerged computer education and the sphere of information and telecommunications services is rapidly expanding. Finally, in these countries there are government strategies and programs for building the information society.
The path of Russia's transition to the information society is determined by its current socio-economic and cultural characteristics, which include:
Thus, the market and non-profit sectors, which are still considered separately, are interrelated. The authors of the Future Issues Commission assume that "public servants" receive a citizen's allowance to support their livelihood and are not considered unemployed. They do not gain any benefit from labor management.
Art and culture in future work. As can be seen from the above quotation, the Commissioner for the Future of Freistaat-Bavaria and Saxony attaches central importance to the development of art and culture for the development of a knowledge society. Art and culture are an integral part of the information society. However, arts and culture offerings alone are not enough. Particular attention should be paid to cultural education in particular. The Accreditation Commission's final report, "The Future of the Media in Business and Society - Germany's Path to the Information Society", repeatedly stated that lifelong learning is the key to successfully changing the information society and therefore the link to employment.
- On the one side:
- the presence of negative economic trends characteristic of the transition economy of Russia:
- predominance of the share of the raw materials sector in the national
- insufficient level of development of high technology
- insignificant share of high-tech products in GDP
- low absolute GDP (14th in the world) and low GDP per capita (104th in the world);
- low level of investment attractiveness
- limited domestic demand, etc.;
- insufficiently developed information and communication infrastructure;
- lack of sufficient effective demand for information products and services;
- the absence of a large middle class - the main consumer of information products;
- on the other side:
- growth of information needs of the entire population in socially significant political, economic and social information;
- the presence of high scientific, educational and cultural potential created in the USSR and still remaining in Russia;
- relatively cheap intellectual labor capable of posing and solving complex scientific and technical problems;
- advanced formation of modern communication systems in relation to other sectors of the economy, comparable in growth rates to developed countries;
- dynamic development of the Russian market of information and telecommunication technologies, products, services (14-19% per year).
The transition of any country to the information society requires large material costs for the formation and development of the information and economic space, the market for new information technologies, products and services, and the formation of data banks of publicly available information resources. Today, US spending in the information technology sector reaches 10% of GDP, but from these investments the US receives more than 25% of its GDP. Approximately the same volumes are typical for other developed countries.
This path is unacceptable for today's Russia, since significant capital investments will be needed in a fairly short period of time: at least 8% of GDP over 7-10 years, which would allow reaching the average European level of informatization.
Therefore, it is necessary to look for a path focused on socio-political, economic and cultural characteristics Russian society and requiring a minimum of capital investment from the state, at least minimal rates of economic growth, rapid development of commercial structures, and improving the quality of life of the population.
In the current conditions, the direction of cash flows and the rate of economic growth are of particular importance. It is possible to develop exports and import-substituting products, attract investments to develop the raw materials sector and, through these measures, maintain the current level of development, but it is impossible to catch up with developed countries. Due to its low economic level, Russia cannot catch up with developed countries in terms of the level of application and updating of new information technologies, but, in principle, it can overtake by creating something fundamentally new.
For Russia, with its high educational level and so far unspent intellectual potential, a chance for revival is seen in the use of education and science as a long-term competitive advantage. In conditions of rapid evolution, this makes it possible to locally overtake without catching up.
To implement the described direction, it is necessary to provide the Russian scientific and technical potential with an appropriate financial base of both state and non-state funding, for which it is necessary: "
Cultural education is a prerequisite for further education in general. Cultural literacy includes essential reading literacy as well as media competency. It is also important that the images can be deciphered. In modern means of communication, images and signs have become important; deciphering and interpreting these signs is part of the competence of the media. Cultural education encounters something unusual and opens up the show, but it also makes it fun.
And this is certainly one of the best prerequisites for successful educational processes. In order for arts and culture to play an important role, the authors of the Future Issues Commission ask them to promote the arts as well as arts beyond great events. And among them are various cultural institutions in their entire range from music schools through libraries to theaters and museums. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that arts and culture are not just a government-funded sector. Also included are the cultural and media industries.
- improve the investment climate in the country;
- stimulate the development of small and medium-sized businesses, allowing newly created enterprises to compete with those who form the basis of the “old economy”;
- create an infrastructure for supporting fundamental knowledge, consisting of the following links: government support fundamental science and R&D; availability of an accessible education system; the dominance of imperfect competition, ensuring super-profits from innovation; the functioning of a significant part of private capital to finance discoveries and inventions on a market basis.
- Informatization of the entire system of general and special education: from kindergarten to graduation from high school and subsequent forms of training and retraining of specialists; increasing the role of qualifications, professionalism and creativity as the most important characteristics of human potential. Informatization of the education system, focused on the formation of a new generation that meets the conditions of the information society in terms of development and lifestyle, is the main long-term task of the transition to it. Its solution should help young people get prestigious and better-paid jobs, improve their cultural image, leisure and entertainment world, develop their personal abilities to the maximum extent, and prepare themselves for life and work in the information world
- The formation and development of the industry and the corresponding infrastructure of information and communication services, including home computerization, aimed at the mass consumer, is one of the main tasks of developing the information environment of society. It is directly related to the interest of us
education, economic structures and government authorities in the use of information as a resource for social, economic and individual development and in increasing the efficiency of public administration. The development of the information environment is also associated with the personal, including financial, participation of citizens in the formation of the information society. Solving this problem will allow us to raise the level of information culture and computer literacy, ensure the development of the most dynamic sector of the market of information and communication tools, information products and services and support for domestic producers, and will also contribute to the organization of new jobs (telework), home health care, and leisure , e-commerce, information and cultural services, including for people with disabilities, etc. - Providing fundamental Russian science with adequate state and non-state funding.
In Russia, over the past 7-10 years, the following factors of socio-economic and scientific and technological development have emerged, which can be considered as economic prerequisites for the transition to an information society:
To develop this sector of the economy, positive frameworks are needed, among others, in tax laws or copyright laws. However, art and culture are not only the ferment of the information society. Arts and culture is a labor market like many others and is therefore, like other segments, affected by the changes in the workforce described above.
In addition, art and culture in general will play an important role in solving the crisis in the functioning of the information society. Here art and culture must be considered in all their complexity, as a disturbing factor in society, as a market segment, as an object of education.
- information becomes a public resource for development, the scale of its use can already be compared with traditional resources (energy, raw materials, etc.). Today, the sales volume in Russia of computer technology and information science equipment alone (mainly computers and peripheral devices) reaches more than 1 million units per year and is estimated at approximately $1.5 billion. As world experience shows, the cost of sales of a software product is usually equal to or slightly higher than the cost of equipment, and the cost of personal funds communications, audio and video equipment are commensurate with the costs of computer technology. These minimum approximate estimates total $3.5 billion. This amount of total costs for information already has macroeconomic significance and characterizes the growth in the use of information resources;
- the share of new information products and services in GDP is increasing (in 2000 it amounted to 0.3%, currently - 0.8%, in 2010, according to forecasts, will reach 2%).
- In Russia, a domestic market for new information technologies, products and services has formed and is successfully developing. The volume of funds circulating on it, according to various estimates, reaches 4-6.5 billion dollars. in year. According to preliminary forecasts of the Ministry of Economic Development, the implementation of the Federal Target Program “ Electronic Russia"will lead to an increase in the volume of the market for new information technologies, products and services by 2-3 times by 2005 and by 5-6 times by 2010. The number of personal computers in the economy will increase 5 times, and home computers - 4 times. Every second computer will have Internet access. All the highest educational establishments it is planned to connect to the Network by 2005, all schools - by 2010;
- In general, the country is rapidly developing telecommunications systems and means, and the number of corporate information networks is increasing. New communications enterprises are actively developing. Businesses that own 87% of traditional infrastructure generate 49% of industry revenue. New operators account for 13% of the market and 51% of revenue;
- The number of subscribers to global open networks is constantly growing. The number of regular Internet users in Russia increased in 2001 compared to 2000 by 39% and amounted to 4.3 million people. The total number of Internet users in the Russian Federation in 2001 was about 10 million people;
- The national communication network using satellite channels is intensively expanding. The country is successfully installing telephones and the market for funds is growing rapidly mobile communications;
- Many sectors of the economy, the banking sector and the sphere of public administration and education have been largely computerized; -
- Public opinion is developing an understanding of the relevance of the task of transition to an information society from a political and economic point of view. This is evidenced by the wide public response to the “Concept of State Information Policy,” which can be considered as a policy to ensure the initial stage of Russia’s transition to the information society;
- Today Russia is part of the global political and economic community to a degree that it has never been in the past. Literally and figuratively, it is connected to the rest of the world by cable and satellite channels communications actively used by hundreds of thousands of cell phones and simple phones, faxes, computers, etc.
- creation and development of the technological base of the information society;
- development and implementation of political, social, economic, legal, organizational and cultural solutions that ensure movement along the chosen path.
- development of the Concept of regulatory support for the transition process, which is the basis of government influence on this process, defining the main directions and tasks of improving the system of information legislation, including in the field of copyright and related rights and intellectual property protection;
- development of existing and creation of new network structures and technologies built on the basis of international experience and standards;
- organization and deployment of broad socio-political propaganda support for the process of transition to the information society;
- selection of adequate educational technologies and educational processes modern information and communication technologies (computer training programs, satellite and cable television, multimedia, etc.);
- creation of specialized publicly available information resources (databases and data banks, electronic libraries, etc.), including non-profit ones, focused on solving educational problems;
- organization of a network of specialized educational centers of regional and city subordination, as well as training and retraining centers for teachers and teachers, equipped with modern information technology.
- development of cheap specialized devices for network interaction of users with information systems, publicly accessible terminals for information, reference and advisory systems for social purposes, as well as the development of systems for software, content and service support for home computerization;
- creation of economic conditions that facilitate the integration of state and non-state structures in the development and development of the market of information and communication services for the population.
- development of cheap means of computerization of public libraries, museums, archives and other cultural institutions, widespread introduction of electronic printing tools into the practice of book publishing and mass printing;
- formation of publicly accessible databases and data banks in the field of humanities and social sciences;
- creation of a wide network of cultural, information and information and entertainment centers in the regions, large and small cities, including in neighboring countries, as well as the development of a powerful Russian-language sector on the Internet, technological support for the websites of cultural and information centers.
mation society is one of priority areas development of Russian society.
One of the conditions for Russia's transition to an information society is the formation of a developed information and economic space and its integration into the global information space, which should ensure stable economic growth, improving the quality of life of the population and the socio-political stability of society and the state.
And of course this also applies to changes that affect the cultural sector itself. New information and communication technologies also greatly influence the production, use and mediation of culture. Workplace culture is in turmoil.
Thus, boundaries between different sectors are abolished. Artists, scientists and technicians work together to develop new technical forms. Very complex methods require the cooperation of people with varying abilities and training. This is one of the opportunities of the information society; it helps to break the established division of disciplines. For example, the last year with open eyes and eyes about the Frankfurt Book Fair has not only heard the loud whispers of concentration processes in the publishing industry.
The author of the term “information society” is considered to be the American economist F. Machlup, who first used it in his work “Production and Application of Knowledge in the USA.” Independently, this definition was also proposed by the Japanese scientist T. Umesao. In philosophical and sociological studies, the concept of “information society” was used to designate a qualitatively new type of society, in which activities related to the production, consumption, transmission and storage of information predominate. The information society was considered as one of the stages of post-industrial or as independent stage social development following it. In the early 90s, these definitions were used as synonyms.
In 1962, Marshall McLuhan introduced the concept of “electronic society” as a special stage in the development of modern society, within which electronic means communications. Communication technologies are considered by the Canadian researcher as a key factor determining the emergence of socio-economic systems. In his famous work “The Guttenberg Galaxy,” M. McLuhan points out the dependence between the creation of the printing press, which resulted in the emergence of a new type of communication strategies, which, in turn, irreversibly influenced the development and formation of the political, economic, social structure of industrial society and its institutions. Because it is precisely in the conditions mass distribution The printed word created opportunities for the development of entrepreneurship (based on private property) and the democratization of society based on suffrage.
McLuhan's attention was concentrated on audiovisual media, primarily television, which
which acted as a representative of the entire global electronic reality. Television, according to McLuhan, is gradually destroying print culture, thus suppressing previous cultural forms. As an essential element of the global information network, television actually turns the world into a “global village.” McLuhan formulated two fundamental characteristics of television. The first of them is associated with the mosaic, fragmented structure of a television information product, which is a set of visual and auditory messages devoid of strict internal logical connections. Thus, events of different content, scale, discourse, time and place of action are combined in a short news program. The second characteristic reflects the cumulative effect, the mutual reinforcement of disparate messages in the perceiving consciousness of the recipient, which combines individual signals into a kind of semantic unity.
In foreign literature of the late 70-80s of the twentieth century, the problems of the information society were actively discussed. T. Stoneier argued that information is a special type of resource, similar to capital: capable of accumulation, transmission, and storage for subsequent sale. Within a post-industrial society, national information resources represent the largest potential source of wealth.
In parallel with the research of American authors, Japanese scientists presented their concepts. Among them is the work of I. Masuda “The Information Society as a Post-Industrial Society”, in which he described the basic principles and characteristics of the advancing society. Its foundation will be, according to Masuda, computer technology designed to replace or significantly enhance human mental work. The information technology revolution will act as a new production force, the consequences of which will be expressed in the form of mass production of high-quality cognitive information and new technologies. The most important sector of the economy in the new society will be intellectual production, and new technologies
Communication technologies will ensure proper storage and distribution of new products.
In the global information society, from the point of view of I. Ma- courts, a serious transformation of values will occur: classes will disappear, conflicts will be reduced to a minimum. The result will be a society of harmony with a small government that will not require a bloated state apparatus. In contrast to an industrial society aimed at the production and consumption of goods, according to Masuda, the main value of an information society will be time.
The famous futurist Alvin Toffler made his contribution to the development of the ideas of post-industrialism and the information society. The author of the “wave” concept of social development, set out in the book “The Third Wave,” offers his own scheme for the evolution of forms of social structure, identifying three “waves” in the history of civilization: agricultural (until the 18th century), industrial (until the 1950s) and post-1950s. - or super-industrial (starting from the second half of the twentieth century). Toffler describes the process of the withering away of industrial civilization in terms of the “technosphere”, “sociosphere”, “information” and “power sphere”, pointing to the fundamental changes currently experiencing in all spheres. As an information society, Toffler considers a society of the third wave, where information becomes the main type of property, while previously it was land (agrarian wave) and means of production (industrial). The transition to information ownership represents a revolutionary explosion because it is the first property that is intangible, intangible, and potentially infinite.
The social-class basis of the information society, according to
O. Toffler, will constitute a “cognitariat,” which is a social group that actively uses knowledge rather than physical labor. The development of computer technology and means of communication will lead, according to Toffler, to a change in the structure of employment, and in combination with the increasing intellectualization of work - to the emergence of so-called “electronic cottages”, which will allow work to be transferred from the office to the employee’s home. In addition to saving time and reducing transportation costs, the cost of providing centralized workplaces, the introduction of “electronic cottages” will
contribute, according to Toffler, to strengthening the family and will strengthen trends towards reviving the attractiveness of small towns and village life.
Within the framework of the stage approach, which assumes the sequential movement of society from one phase to another, theorists of the information society identify one or another stage of social development, using the dominant sector of the economy as a basic criterion. Thus, in an agrarian society, the economy was based on agriculture, economic activity was directed towards food production, and the main resource was land. Industry became the dominant economic sector of industrial society; production activity was associated with the production of goods; capital was considered the most significant resource. The information society is based on the production and use of information for the development and effective existence of other forms of production; knowledge serves as a resource.
In the concept of Professor J. Martin, the information society is understood, first of all, as a “developed post-industrial society” that arose in the West. The researcher made an attempt to identify and formulate the main characteristics of the information society according to several criteria. The technological criterion assumes that information technology, widely used in all social spheres, structures, organizations, in the business environment and in everyday life, is becoming a key factor in the development of society. The social criterion is associated with the fact that new standards for the production and consumption of information provoke changes in the quality of life, leading to the formation of the so-called “information consciousness,” the existence of which is possible only if there is free and wide access to information. The economic criterion reflects the most important role of information in a modern economy. Information becomes a resource, a product, a service, increases employment and produces added value of products and services. The political criterion indicates the specifics of the political process, which in the conditions of the information society
characterized by the ever-increasing participation of citizens in government processes, since information technologies facilitate the possibility of communication with government officials and public control over their activities. Martin believes that in the information society, the emergence of consensus between social groups and classes is ensured to a greater extent. Finally, based on the cultural criterion, Martin characterizes the information society as a society that recognizes the cultural value of information, promotes the formation of information values that provide further development both society in general and the individual in particular.
J. Martin notes that when speaking about the information society, it should not be taken in a literal sense, but rather considered as a guideline, a trend of change in modern Western society. From his point of view, in general this model is oriented towards the future, but in developed capitalist countries it is already possible to name a whole series of changes caused by information technology, which in to a certain extent confirm the concept of the information society.
Among these changes, Martin names such as: structural changes in the economy, especially in the distribution of labor; increased awareness of the importance of information; growing awareness of the need for computer literacy; widespread use of information technology; government support for the development of computer microelectronic technology and telecommunications.
Ultimately, Martin offers the following understanding of the information society: it is a society the most important indicators and whose prospects are directly related to the effective use of information. Standards of quality and standard of living, systems of production and consumption, education and leisure, social security, management and interaction of the main components of the social structure as a whole in society of this type are closely dependent on the development of the information and cognitive components.
In 1996, the first book in Manuel Castells' trilogy was published. Information Age: economy, society and culture". In his truly large-scale work, the scientist analyzed in detail the processes of social development throughout the twentieth century and formulated the concept of information capitalism, which reveals the main features of the modern information society (see the subsection “Information capitalism of Manuel Castells”).
In 1999, Don Tapscott published the book “Electronic Digital Society: The Pros and Cons of Networked Intelligence,” in which he presented his attempt to comprehend the global nature of the changes taking place in humanity. Tapscott notes that the area currently undergoing the most serious modernization is education. The traditional educational system no longer provides graduates with long-term job security, since the rapid pace of updating knowledge requires constant retraining. In the electronic society, the very idea of learning, the connections between learning and work and everyday life is being revised: the information society is based on mental work, therefore, work is increasingly intertwined with study, which turns into a lifelong occupation. Tapscott identifies the key features of the new society: knowledge orientation, digital representation of objects, virtualization of production, innovative nature, integration, convergence, elimination of intermediaries, transformation of manufacturer-consumer relations, dynamism, globalization and a number of others.
Domestic experts began to actively address the problems of the post-industrial/information society only in the last decades of the twentieth century. Soviet researchers, from the standpoint of the formational approach, criticized the concepts of post-industrial society and were not able to correlate Western developments with the realities of life in the Soviet state. However, in the late 80s - early 90s of the last century, works by domestic authors began to appear, devoted to the problems of the formation of a global information society and the inclusion of Russia in this process.
Equally unmistakable were the opportunities for rationalization arising from the use of new technologies in the printing sector. Electronic media did not push the book to print. But they radically change it. In this case, everything can be managed electronically from the order by retrieving the text from the digital library, printing, linking and finally delivering to the customer. People, few people, are needed only to control the production process.
However, they also make clear that developers and providers of electronic media have realized that they have nothing to sell without content. The next few years will show whether "software books" are a fad or can dominate the competitive book market.
A. I. Rakitov noted that the transition to a new information society becomes possible when social activities is aimed primarily at the production of services and knowledge. The main task of the information society is related to ensuring the right and opportunity of a citizen, regardless of the time and location of his location, to obtain the information he needs.
Rakitov describes the information society in accordance with the following characteristics: the presence of any citizen, group of persons, social organization of a realizable opportunity at any time and anywhere in the country to gain access to the information necessary to solve individual or socially significant problems; production and operation in free access mode of modern information technologies, the use of which can be carried out by any individual, group or organization; the presence of a developed infrastructure that allows for the creation and storage of national information resources, which, in turn, are effectively used to maintain an appropriate level of scientific, technical, technological and generally social progress; acceleration of processes of automation and computerization of technological and production processes, control systems in general; transformation of basic social structures, as a result of which the service sector develops and the profiles of information activities expand.
Well-known domestic experts on the problems of the information society G. L. Smolyan and D. S. Chereshkin, analyzing the essence and specifics of the new stage of social development, including in relation to Russian reality, identified a number of characteristics of the information society. TO the most important characteristics researchers include: the creation of a unified information space, the intensification of processes of information, as well as economic integration of states; the emergence and, in the future, the predominance in the economies of countries of new technological structures, the essence of which is to ensure mass production and use of network information, communication, and computer technologies; improving the level of education through
the use in educational processes of information exchange systems operating at various levels - from regional to international; increasing requirements for the qualifications, professionalism and creative potential of employees.
Among the many different approaches, concepts and theories that describe the phenomenon of the information society, we can highlight certain universal characteristics that are one way or another recognized by almost all researchers. So, the global information society most often refers to a new type of society, the foundation of which is the accelerated and inclusive development, dissemination and convergence of information and communication technologies. This is a knowledge society, which assumes a special role for the cognitive component, in which the main competitive advantage and the key to success are knowledge and skills that allow one to obtain and use information in conditions of secured and guaranteed unhindered access to it. The new information society is global in nature, in which the exchange of information is not limited by time, space or political barriers. Finally - and in this scientists see the humanistic orientation of the information society - it promotes the interpenetration of cultures, and also provides individuals, groups, and communities with new opportunities for self-realization.
At the same time, it should be noted that not all arguments of supporters of the concepts of post-industrial and information societies have met and are met with undeniable approval. A skeptical attitude towards the information society as a new social reality is contained in the studies of G. Schiller, M. Allett, D. Harvey, E. Giddens, J. Habermas. Representatives of this group agree that information plays a role key role in modern society, but its forms and functions are well known, obey established principles and do not lead to qualitative changes in social relations. A serious critical analysis of ideas, approaches and concepts describing a new type of society,
It will also prove the impact of this technology on book printing and the book trade. It is now clear that the growth in the labor market arising from the need for content cannot compensate for the resulting job losses in manufacturing. This also applies to the rather traditional media of radio and television. Here, of course, the expansion of this market also leads to increased profits. On the one hand, they are characterized by intermittent employment; on the other hand, use digital technologies, which also means job loss.
F. Webster was the author, who outlined the conceptual and methodological shortcomings of the most recognized theories of the information society (see the subsection “Frank Webster: a critical analysis of the theories of the information society”).
