BEYOND CALCULATION was published in celebration of the golden anniversary of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). The twenty essays explore computing over the next fifty years in terms of the future consequences caused by the way computers are being used today in Part I, The Coming Revolution". The affect computers will have on our lives and identity is discussed in Part II, "Computers and Human Identity". This review will focus on Pare III, Business and Innovation". The writers who contribute to Part III look at the effects of "ubiquitous digital information" on leadership, business practices, innovation, and learning. The omnipresence of digital information is given artificial life in "Sharing Our Planet". Donald D. Chamberlin suggests that, like DNA, digital devices form an ecosystem or "digital habitat". Occupying the ecosystem are "digital individuals", the programs that give the devices function and personality. The "digital habitat" has grown into an interconnected global network. Chamberlin concludes that as a result of the "new digital inhabitants" information becomes free and ubiquitous.
The leader that emerges in the year 2047 will be responsible for the articulation and rearticulation of a company's identity. In an environment where change may be the only constant, the leader takes a new approach to change viewing it as healthy and necessary. The leader must lead the reinvention of a company's identity over time to insure the company's survival. The impact of three decades of computers and information technology has transformed the computer from a calculator and storage device to a vital communication tool. The world becomes more fast pace as information technology reduces the time between innovation and effect.
In "Information Warfare", Larry Druffel highlights the issues surrounding internet security. This essay places the responsibility for the protection of information with the individual or institution that owns it. In light of the recent security intrusions into some of internet's largest websites, security becomes an immense concern when we envision having all information in some electronic form fifty years from now. The learning institution will change to prepare knowledge workers for the workplace of the future. Environments of hyperlearning will replace classrooms with a linear model of learning. In the hyperlearning environment the student-teacher relationship as "apprentice-master" will be most effective. The job of the teacher will be to cultivate knowledge. The two forces that will drive change in the curricula, learning environment and the role of the teacher, reflect both student demand for a more "customer-orientated relationship with the university" and the affect of digital media and networking.
The leadership of the future will be faced with all of these issues. The contributors to Part III, "Business and Innovation", agree on one point. They agree that predicting the future impact of computers, networks, and information and communication technology on business and learning five decades from now is a challenging task.
