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Computer science and information society. Information society: concept and trends The invention of the term information society is associated with the name

In the history of the development of civilization, several information revolutions have occurred - transformations of social relations due to fundamental changes in the field of information processing. The consequence of such transformations was the acquisition of a new quality by human society.

The first revolution was associated with the invention of writing, which led to a gigantic qualitative and quantitative leap. There is an opportunity to transfer knowledge from generation to generation.

The second (mid-16th century) was caused by the invention of printing, which radically changed industrial society, culture, and organization of activities.

The third (late 19th century) was due to the invention of electricity, thanks to which the telegraph, telephone, and radio appeared, making it possible to quickly transmit and accumulate information in any volume.

The fourth (70s of the XX century) is associated with the invention of microprocessor technology and the advent of the personal computer. Computers, computer networks, and data transmission systems (information communications) are created using microprocessors and integrated circuits. This period is characterized by three main innovations:

· transition from mechanical and electrical means of information conversion to electronic ones;

· miniaturization of all components, devices, instruments, machines;

· creation of software-controlled devices and processes.

To create a more holistic picture of this period, it is advisable to get acquainted with the change in generations of electronic computers (computers) and compare this information with the stages in the field of information processing and transmission.

1st generation (early 50s). The element base is electron tubes. Computers were distinguished by their large dimensions, high energy consumption, low speed, low reliability, and programming in codes.

2nd generation (from the late 50s). Element base – semiconductor elements. Everything has improved compared to the previous generation computers specifications. Algorithmic languages are used for programming.

3rd generation (early 60s). Element base – integrated circuits, multilayer printed circuit assembly. A sharp reduction in the size of computers, increasing their reliability, increasing productivity. Access from remote terminals.

4th generation (from the mid-70s). The element base is microprocessors, large integrated circuits. Technical characteristics have been improved. Mass production of personal computers. Directions of development: powerful multiprocessor computing systems with high performance, creation of cheap microcomputers.

5th generation (from the mid-80s). The development of intelligent computers began, but has not yet been successful. Introduction into all areas of computer networks and their integration, use of distributed data processing, widespread use of computer information technologies.

The latest information revolution brings to the fore a new industry - the information industry, associated with the production of technical means, methods, technologies for the production of new knowledge. All types of information technologies, especially telecommunications, are becoming the most important components of the information industry. Modern information technology is based on advances in the field of computer technology and communications.

The increasing complexity of industrial production, social, economic and political life, changes in the dynamics of processes in all spheres of human activity have led, on the one hand, to an increase in the need for knowledge, and on the other, to the creation of new means and ways to satisfy these needs.

The rapid development of computer technology and information technology gave impetus to the development of a society built on the use of various information and called the information society.

Japanese scientists believe that in the information society, the computerization process will give people access to reliable sources of information, relieve them of routine work, and ensure a high level of automation of information processing in the industrial and social spheres. The driving force behind the development of society should be the production of informational, rather than material, products. The material product will become more information-intensive, which means an increase in the share of innovation, design and marketing in its value.

The material and technological base of the information society are various kinds of systems based on computer equipment and computer networks, information technology, and telecommunications.

The information society is a society in which the majority of workers are engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of information, especially its highest form - knowledge. Human activities focus primarily on information processing, while material production and energy production are entrusted to machines.

During the transition to the information society, a new information processing industry is emerging based on computer and telecommunication information technologies.

Let us highlight the characteristic features of the information society:

· the problem of the information crisis has been solved, i.e. the contradiction between the information avalanche and
information hunger;

· priority of information is ensured compared to other resources;

· the main form of development will be the information economy;

· the basis of society will be the automated generation, storage, processing and use of knowledge with
using the latest information technology and technologies;

· information technology will become global in nature, covering all areas of human social activity;

· information unity of the entire human civilization is being formed;

· with the help of computer science, free access of every person to information resources of the entire
civilization;

· humanistic principles of social management and environmental impact have been implemented.

In addition to the positive aspects, dangerous trends are also predicted:

· the increasing influence of the media on society;

Information technology can destroy the privacy of people and organizations;

· there is a problem of selecting high-quality and reliable information;

· Many people will find it difficult to adapt to the information society environment. There is a danger of a gap between
"information elite" (people involved in the development of information technologies) and consumers.

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT

The activities of individuals, groups, teams and organizations are now increasingly beginning to depend on their awareness and ability to effectively use available information. Before taking any action, it is necessary to carry out a lot of work on collecting and processing information, understanding it and analyzing it. Finding rational solutions in any area requires processing large amounts of information, which is sometimes impossible without the use of special technical means.

The increase in the volume of information became especially noticeable in the middle of the 20th century. An avalanche-like flow of information rushed at a person, not giving him the opportunity to perceive this information fully. It became increasingly difficult to navigate the new stream of information that appeared every day. Sometimes it has become more profitable to create a new material or intellectual product than to search for an analogue made earlier. As a result, an information crisis (explosion) occurs.

The world has accumulated enormous information potential, but people cannot take full advantage of it due to their limited capabilities. The information crisis has confronted society with the need to find ways out of this situation. The introduction of computers, modern means of processing and transmitting information into various fields of activity served as the beginning of a new evolutionary process called informatization in the development of human society, which is at the stage of industrial development.

Informatization of society is an organized socio-economic and scientific-technical process of creating optimal conditions for meeting information needs and realizing the rights of citizens, government bodies, local governments, organizations, public associations based on the formation and use of information resources

Modern material production and other areas of activity increasingly require information services and processing of huge amounts of information. A universal technical means of processing any information is a computer, which plays the role of an amplifier of the intellectual capabilities of a person and society as a whole, and communication tools using computers serve to communicate and transmit information. The emergence and development of computers is a necessary component of the process of informatization of society.

When computerizing society, the main attention is paid to the development and implementation of the technical base of computers that ensure prompt receipt of the results of information processing and its accumulation.

When informatizing society, the main attention is paid to a set of measures aimed at ensuring the full use of reliable, comprehensive and timely knowledge in all types of human activity.

Thus, “informatization of society” is a broader concept than “computerization of society” and is aimed at quickly mastering information to meet one’s needs. In the concept of “informatization of society,” the emphasis should be placed not so much on technical means, but on the essence and purpose of socio-technical progress. Computers are a basic technical component of the process of informatization of society.

Currently, all countries of the world are implementing the process of informatization to one degree or another. For the successful implementation of an informatization program, it is advisable to follow the principles common to the entire world community:

· refusal of the desire to primarily ensure the economic growth of the country;

· the need to replace the economic structure based on heavy industry with a structure
based on knowledge-intensive industries;

· recognition of the priority nature of the information sector. The basis for successful economic development is
creation of new infrastructure and service sector capable of supporting the national economy;

· widespread use of the achievements of world science and technology;

· investing significant financial resources in informatization, both public and private;

· announcement of an increase in the welfare of the country and its citizens by facilitating communication and processing conditions
information is the main goal of informatization. The result of the informatization process is the creation
information society, where they manipulate not material objects, but symbols, ideas, images,
intelligence, knowledge. If we consider humanity as a whole, it is currently moving from
industrial society to information society.

For each country, its movement from the industrial stage of development to the information stage is determined by the degree of informatization of society.

INFORMATION POTENTIAL OF THE SOCIETY

INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES

Resource – reserves, sources of something. This interpretation is given in the Dictionary of the Russian Language by S.I. Ozhegova.

In an industrial society, where most of the efforts are aimed at material production, several main types of resources are known, which have already become classical economic categories:

material resources - a set of objects of labor intended for use in the production process of a social product, for example raw materials, materials, fuel, energy, semi-finished products, parts, etc.;

natural resources - objects, processes, conditions of nature used by society to satisfy the material and spiritual needs of people;

labor resources – people who have general educational and professional knowledge to work in society;

financial resources – funds at the disposal of a state or commercial structure;

energy resources – energy carriers, for example coal, oil, petroleum products, gas, hydropower, electricity, etc.

In the information society, the emphasis of attention and importance shifts from traditional types of resources to the information resource, which, although it has always existed, was not considered either as an economic or as another category; no one specifically spoke about it, much less introduced any definitions.

One of the key concepts in the informatization of society was the concept of “information resources,” the interpretation and discussion of which was carried out from the moment they began to talk about the transition to an information society. Quite a lot of publications are devoted to this issue, which reflect different opinions and definitions, and different scientific schools considering these concepts.

With the adoption of the Federal Law “On Information, Informatization and Information Protection,” most of the uncertainty was removed. Guided not by the scientific side of this issue, but rather by the pragmatic position of the consumer of information, it is advisable to use the definition given in this law. Moreover, one cannot ignore the fact that legal interpretation in all cases is a support for the user of information in protecting his rights.

Information resources – individual documents and individual arrays of documents, documents and arrays of documents in information systems (libraries, archives, funds, data banks, other information systems). It must be understood that the documents and arrays of information referred to in this law do not exist on their own. They present in different forms the knowledge possessed by the people who created them. Thus, information resources are knowledge prepared by people for social use in society and recorded on a material medium.

The information resources of society, if understood as knowledge, are alienated from those people who accumulated them, generalized them, analyzed them, created them, etc. This knowledge has materialized in the form of documents, databases, knowledge bases, algorithms, computer programs, as well as works of art, literature, and science.

The information resources of a country, region, or organization should be considered as strategic resources, similar in importance to reserves of raw materials, energy, minerals and other resources.

The development of global information resources has made it possible to:

· transform the provision of information services into a global human activity;

· to form a global and domestic market for information services;

· create all kinds of databases of resources of regions and states, to which relatively inexpensive access is possible
access;

· increase the validity and efficiency of decisions made in companies, banks, exchanges, industry, trade
etc. due to the timely use of the necessary information.

INFORMATION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Information resources are the basis for creating information products. Any information product reflects the information model of its manufacturer and embodies his own idea of the specific subject area for which it was created. An information product, being the result of human intellectual activity, must be recorded on a material medium of any physical nature in the form of documents, articles, reviews, programs, books, etc.

An information product is a set of data generated by the manufacturer for distribution in tangible or intangible form.

An information product can be distributed in the same ways as any other tangible product, through services.

A service is the result of non-productive activities of an enterprise or person, aimed at satisfying the needs of a person or organization to use various products.

Information service – receipt and provision of information products to the user.

In a narrow sense, an information service is often perceived as a service obtained with the help of computers, although in fact the concept is much broader.

When providing a service, an agreement (contract) is concluded between two parties – the provider and the user of the service. The contract specifies the period of its use and the corresponding remuneration.

The list of services is determined by the volume, quality, subject orientation in the field of use of information resources and information products created on their basis.

Information services arise only if there are databases in a computer or non-computer version.

A database is a collection of related data, the rules of organization of which are based on general principles of description, storage and manipulation of data.

Databases are a source and a kind of semi-finished product in the preparation of information services by the relevant services. Databases, although they were not called that, existed even before the computer age in libraries, archives, foundations, reference bureaus and other similar organizations. They contain all kinds of information about events, phenomena, objects, processes, publications, etc.

With the advent of computers, the volume of stored databases increases significantly and the range of information services expands accordingly.

Let's consider the classification of databases from the standpoint of their use for systematizing information services and products.

Databases are usually divided into: bibliographic and non-bibliographic.

Bibliographic databases contain secondary information about documents, including abstracts and annotations.

Non-bibliographic databases have many types:

· reference books containing information about various objects and phenomena, for example

· addresses, timetables, store phone numbers, etc.;

· full text containing primary information, such as articles, magazines, brochures, etc.;

· numerical, containing quantitative characteristics and parameters of objects and phenomena, for example chemical and
physical data, statistical and demographic data, etc.;

· text-numeric, containing descriptions of objects and their characteristics, for example, for industrial products,
companies, countries, etc.;

· financial, containing financial information provided by banks, exchanges, firms, etc.;

· legal, containing legal documents by industry, region, country.

Concept “ Information society” appeared in the second half of the 1960s. The introduction of the concept of “information society” is associated with Toffler’s concept of “three waves”. In the book “The Third Wave,” Toffler never gave a direct definition of the concept of “information (or post-industrial) society” that he himself introduced. He defines it descriptively, by listing parts that are radically new to today's life and will radically change the life of the modern generation.

The term “information society” was used in Japan in 1966 in a report by the Scientific, Technological and Economic Research Group, which stated that the information society is a society in which there is an abundance of high-quality information, as well as all necessary means of its distribution.

“Information society” is a civilization, the development and existence of which is based on a special intangible substance, conventionally called “information,” which has the ability to interact with both the spiritual and material worlds of man. On the one hand, information forms the material environment of human life, acting as innovative technologies, computer programs, telecommunication protocols, etc., and on the other hand, it serves as the main means of interpersonal relationships, constantly changing and transforming in the process of transition from one person to another. . [Philosophical definition]

The formation of the information society is associated with the development of computing and information technology. Information technology has dramatically reduced the cost of processing and storing information.

The information society has three main characteristics.

First, information is used as an economic resource. Organizations are using information on an ever-increasing scale to improve efficiency, stimulate innovation, and strengthen competitiveness. Secondly, information becomes a subject of mass consumption among the population. Thirdly, there is an intensive formation of the information sector of the economy, which is growing at a faster pace than other sectors. Moreover, the movement towards an information society is a general trend for developed and developing countries.

As national information infrastructures are created, it is necessary that they transform together into a global information infrastructure. This challenge requires unprecedented international cooperation to ensure that every citizen has the right to access the global information infrastructure. The principles that characterize the global information society are highlighted:

Ensuring fair competition;

Encouraging private investment;

Identification and adaptation of regulatory mechanisms;

Ensuring open access to networks;

Creating conditions to ensure universal access to information services; - ensuring equality of opportunity for citizens;

Ensuring content diversity, including cultural and linguistic;

Recognition of the need for international cooperation with special attention to developing countries.

But it should be noted that the development of the information society is accompanied by such concepts as copyright protection and limited access to certain information.

History of the concept

The term “information society” owes its name to the professor of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yu. Hayashi, whose term was used in the works of F. Machlup (1962) and T. Umesao (1963), which appeared almost simultaneously in Japan and the USA. The theory of the “information society” was developed by such famous authors as M. Porat, Y. Massoud, T. Stoner, R. Karz and others; to one degree or another, it received support from those researchers who focused not so much on the progress of information technologies themselves, but on the formation of a technological, or technetronic (technetronic - from the Greek techne), society, or designated modern society, starting from the increased or growing role of knowledge, as “the knowledgeable society”, “knowledge society” or “knowledge-value society”. Today, there are dozens of concepts proposed to designate individual, sometimes even completely unimportant, features of modern society, which for one reason or another are nevertheless called its fundamental characteristics. Thus, in contrast to the first approach to terminological designations, the second leads, in essence, to the rejection of generalizing concepts and limits the researchers professing it to the study of relatively specific issues.

Since 1992, Western countries began to use the term, for example, the concept of “national global information infrastructure” was introduced in the United States after the famous conference of the National Science Foundation and the famous report of B. Clinton and A. Gore. The concept of “information society” emerged from the work of the European Commission Expert Group on Information Society Programmes, led by Martin Bangemann, one of Europe's most respected experts on the information society; information highways and superhighways - in Canadian, British and American publications.

At the end of the 20th century. The terms information society and informatization have firmly taken their place, not only in the vocabulary of information specialists, but also in the vocabulary of politicians, economists, teachers and scientists. In most cases, this concept was associated with the development of information technologies and telecommunications, which make it possible, on the platform of civil society (or at least its declared principles), to make a new evolutionary leap and worthily enter the next, 21st century as an information society or its initial stage.

It should be noted that a number of Western and domestic political scientists and political economists are inclined to draw a sharp line separating the concept of the information society from post-industrialism. However, although the concept of the information society is intended to replace the theory of post-industrial society, its supporters repeat and further develop a number of the most important provisions of technocracy and traditional futurology.

It is symptomatic that a number of leading researchers who formulated the theory of post-industrial society, such as D. Bell, currently act as supporters of the concept of the information society. For Bell himself, the concept of the information society became a kind of new stage in the development of the theory of post-industrial society. As Bell stated, "a revolution in the organization and processing of information and knowledge, in which the computer plays a central role, is developing in the context of what I have called post-industrial society."

According to Professor W. Martin, the information society is understood as a “developed post-industrial society” that arose primarily in the West. In his opinion, it is no coincidence that the information society is establishing itself primarily in those countries - Japan, the USA and Western Europe - in which a post-industrial society was formed in the 60s and 70s.

W. Martin made an attempt to identify and formulate the main characteristics of the information society according to the following criteria.

Technological: the key factor is information technology, which is widely used in production, institutions, the education system and in everyday life.
Social: information acts as an important stimulator of changes in the quality of life, “information consciousness” is formed and established with wide access to information.
Economic: Information is a key factor in the economy as a resource, service, commodity, source of added value and employment.
Political: freedom of information leading to a political process characterized by increasing participation and consensus among different classes and social strata of the population.
Cultural: recognition of the cultural value of information by promoting the establishment of information values in the interests of the development of the individual and society as a whole.

At the same time, Martin emphasizes the idea that communication is “a key element of the information society.”

Martin notes that when talking 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. According to him, in general this model is focused on the future, but in developed capitalist countries it is already possible to name a number of changes caused by information technology that confirm the concept of the information society.

Among these changes, Martin lists the following:

structural changes in the economy, especially in the distribution of labor; increased awareness of the importance of information and information technology;
growing awareness of the need for computer literacy;
widespread use of computers and information technology;
development of computerization and informatization of society and education;
government support for the development of computer microelectronic technology and telecommunications.
widespread - computer viruses and malware Worldwide.

In light of these changes, Martin argues, “the information society can be defined as a society in which the quality of life, as well as the prospects for social change and economic development, increasingly depend on information and its exploitation. In such a society, living standards, forms of work and leisure, the education system and the market are significantly influenced by advances in the field of information and knowledge.”

In an expanded and detailed form, the concept of the information society (taking into account the fact that it almost fully includes the theory of post-industrial society developed by him in the late 60s - early 70s) is proposed by D. Bell. As Bell argues, “In the coming century, the emergence of a new order based on telecommunications is of decisive importance for economic and social life, for the way knowledge is produced, and for the nature of human work. The revolution in the organization and processing of information and knowledge, in which the computer plays a central role, is unfolding simultaneously with the emergence of post-industrial society.” Moreover, Bell believes that three aspects of post-industrial society are especially important for understanding this revolution. This refers to the transition from an industrial society to a service society, the determining importance of codified scientific knowledge for the implementation of technological innovations and the transformation of a new “intelligent technology” into a key tool for system analysis and decision-making theory.

A qualitatively new aspect was the ability to manage large complexes of organizations and the production of systems that require coordination of the activities of hundreds of thousands and even millions of people. There has been and continues to be a rapid development of new scientific directions, such as information theory, computer science, cybernetics, decision theory, game theory, etc., that is, directions related specifically to the problems of organizational sets.

One of the extremely unpleasant aspects of the informatization of society is the loss of stability in the information society. Due to the increasing importance of information, small groups can have a significant impact on all people. Such influence, for example, can be exercised through terrorism, actively covered by the media. Modern terrorism is one of the consequences of a decrease in the stability of society as it becomes computerized.

Returning the sustainability of the information society can be achieved through strengthening accounting policies. One of the new areas for strengthening people accounting policies is biometrics. Biometrics deals with the creation of machines capable of independently recognizing people. After the events of September 11, 2001, at the initiative of the United States, the active use of international passports with biometric identification of people by automatic machines began when crossing state borders.

The second most important area of strengthening accounting policies in the information society is the massive use of cryptography. An example is a SIM card in a cell phone; it contains cryptographic protection for the accounting of payments by subscribers for a digital communication channel leased from an operator. Cell Phones are digital, it was the transition to digital that made it possible to provide everyone with communication channels, but without cryptography in SIM cards, cellular communications could not become widespread. Cellular operators would not be able to reliably control the presence of money in the subscriber’s account and operations to withdraw money for using the communication channel.

Russia

Several stages can be distinguished in the activities of government authorities in developing and implementing state policy in the field of development of the information society in Russia. The first (1991-1994) laid the foundations in the field of informatization. The second stage (1994-1998) was characterized by a change in priorities from informatization to the development of information policy. The third stage, which continues to this day, is the stage of policy formation in the field of building an information society. In 2002, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted the Federal Target Program “Electronic Russia 2002-2010.” , which gave a powerful impetus to the development of the information society in Russian regions.

In order to ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of personal biometric data, Russia was the first developed country to begin creating a special package of national standards: GOST R 52633.0-2006 (put into effect); GOST R 52633.1-2009 (put into effect), GOST R 52633.2 (passed public discussion); GOST R 52633.3 GOST R 52633.4 (developed, preparing for public discussion); GOST R 52633.5 (developed, preparing for public discussion).

Since other countries do not yet have national standards for converting a person’s biometrics into his personal cryptographic key, presumably the standards of the GOST R 52633 .xx package will be used in the future as the basis for corresponding international standards. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the existing international biometric standards were originally created as US national standards.

Belarus

In 2010, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus approved the Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in Belarus until 2015 and the plan of priority measures for its implementation for 2010 (the development of the information society is one of the national priorities and is a national task). The formation of the foundations of the information society has been completed, the legal basis for informatization has been laid. In the period until 2015 in the Republic of Belarus, according to the Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Republic of Belarus, until 2015, work on the creation and development of the basic components of information and communication infrastructure for the development of the state system for the provision of electronic services (electronic government) must be completed. It will include a national information system, integrating state information resources for the purpose of providing electronic services; a unified secure environment for information interaction; state public key management system; an identification system for individuals and legal entities, as well as a payment gateway in integration with a unified settlement information space through which payment transactions will be carried out. According to the informatization plan for the Republic of Belarus for the period until 2015, it can be assumed that by 2015, every university will have broadband access to the Internet. The strategy for the development of the information society in the country provides for an increase in broadband Internet access ports to 3 million by 2015 (about 530,000 today), the number of mobile Internet access users will reach 7 million (about 1.6 million today). Today, more than 87% of Belarusian schools have some form of Internet access, and more than 21% have broadband access.

CIS countries

In the CIS countries, the information society is implemented on the basis of an interstate network of information and marketing centers (IMC network), which is a project similar to the “Digital Agenda for Europe” (Digital Agenda for Europe), presented by the European Commission as a strategy for ensuring economic growth of the European Union in the digital age and the spread of digital technologies among all sectors of society.

Literature

Abdeev R. F. Philosophy of information civilization / Editors: E. S. Ivashkina, V. G. Detkova. - M.: VLADOS, 1994. - pp. 96-97. - 336 p. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-87065-012-7
Varakin L. E. Global information society: Development criteria and socio-economic aspects. -M.: International. acad. communications, 2001. - 43 p., ill.
Vartanova E. L. Finnish model at the turn of the century: Inform. society and media of Finland in Europe. perspective. : Publishing house Mosk. University, 1999. - 287 p.
Voronina T.P. Information society: essence, features, problems. - M., 1995. - 111 p.
Korotkov A.V., Kristalny B.V., Kurnosov I.N. State policy of the Russian Federation in the field of development of the information society. // Under scientific ed. A. V. Korotkova. - M.: Train LLC, 2007. ISBN 978-5-903652-01-3. - 472 s.
Martin W. J. Information society (Abstract) // Theory and practice of social scientific information. Quarterly / USSR Academy of Sciences. INION; Editorial board: Vinogradov V. A. (chief editor) and others - M., 1990. - No. 3. - P. 115-123.
Chernov A. Formation of a global information society: problems and prospects.
Tuzovsky, I. D. Bright tomorrow? Dystopia of futurology and futurology of dystopias. - Chelyabinsk: Chelyabinsk State Academy. culture and arts, 2009. - 312 p.

Notes

Webster F. Theories of the information society. - M.: Aspect Press, 2004. - 400

Links

, 2000
Basil Lvoff Media and information society
Kostina A.V. Trends in the development of the culture of the information society: analysis of modern information and post-industrial concepts // Electronic magazine “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill ». - 2009. - No. 4 - Culturology.
Pogorsky E.K. The role of youth in the formation of the information society // Information humanitarian portal “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill ». - 2012. - No. 2 (March - April) (archived in WebCite).
Pogorsky E.K. The formation of the information society in the Russian Federation: dialogue between citizens and local governments // Scientific works of Moscow University for the Humanities. - 2011.
Skorodumova O. B. Domestic approaches to the interpretation of the information society: post-industrialist, synergetic and postmodern paradigms // Electronic journal "

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 of the 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.

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 development in society makes it possible to manage large complexes of organizations, production 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.
Use of 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 the information they need. 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 moved to a new stage of 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 high-quality services for access to information on its basis.
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. The technological basis in this society is not industrial, but information and telecommunication 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.

Are there internationally accepted definitions of the information society?

1. The question is posed very correctly, because in Russian literature there are many non-conceptual uses of this term, everyday or purely author’s interpretations that are not related to the established tradition of using the term in Western literature, where it was formulated.

In 1973, the famous American scientist D. Bell in his work “The Coming Post-Industrial Society. Experience of Social Forecasting" put forward the concept of the transition of Western society, characterized as "industrial society", into the post-industrial stage, called post-industrial society. Although Bell examined many of its features, which did emerge two decades later, the term itself was not deciphered. Just as the term “pre-industrial society” requires disclosure of its content (agrarian, traditional), post-industrial society requires disclosure of its essence. The prefix “post” only indicates that this is a society that comes after the industrial one, after it.

Back in 1972, the Japanese set the task of information development of their society and declared the need to make it informational. Before the advent of Bell's concept, this was simply a characteristic of a program to increase the role of information in society. But, taken together, they formed the concept of “information society,” which defines the essence of post-industrial society as a society in which information, rather than industry, plays a decisive role. This is a society whose productivity is determined by the information sector more than by the manufacturing and service sectors. J. Nesbit called the transition to an information society one of the ten most important trends in the transformation of the West, and subsequently the world as a whole. M. Kassel in the work “Information Society. Economy, Society, Culture” examined the essence of the information revolution.

Currently, the importance of knowledge in the information sector has been highlighted, which has led to the spread of the terms “knowledge society” and “knowledge economy”. In accordance with these changes, the West, as a post-industrial society, has concentrated on the production of product models, and their material embodiment has largely moved to non-Western industrial countries, many of which are trying to master high technologies, including information and knowledge application technologies. However, they remain industrial societies. It must be clearly understood that the term “information society” is fully applicable only to Western societies.

Doctor of Philosophy, Prof., Head. Sector of Social Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences

V.G. Fedotova

2. There are many definitions of the information society, which are quite actively referred to by authors in different countries.

After the publication in 1983 of the book by I. Masuda, one of the authors of the “Plan for the Information Society”, developed in Japan in the early 70s of the 20th century, the early interpretations of the information society proposed by the Japanese became the subject of attention of the world scientific community. The invention of the term “information society” is attributed to the professor of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yu. Hayashi. The contours of the information society were outlined in reports submitted to the Japanese government in the late 60s and early 70s by such organizations as the Economic Planning Agency, the Institute for Computer Development and Use, and the Industrial Structure Council. The titles of the reports are indicative: “Japanese Information Society: Topics and Approaches” (1969), “Plan of the Information Society” (1971), “Outlines of the Policy for Promoting Informatization of Japanese Society” (1969). The information society was defined here as one where the process of computerization will give people access to reliable sources of information will relieve them of routine work and provide a high level of production automation. At the same time, production itself will change - its product will become more “information-intensive,” which means an increase in the share of innovation, design work and marketing in its cost; the production of an information product, rather than a material product, will be the driving force of education and development of society.

It should be noted that even earlier, in the 40s, the Australian economist A. Clark wrote about the prospect of a society of information and services, and in the 50s the American economist F. Machlup spoke about the advent of the information economy.

The Japanese version of the information society concept was developed primarily to solve the problems of Japan's economic development. This circumstance determined its, in a certain sense, limited and applied nature. However, in the 70s, the idea of the information society became popular in the USA and Western European countries and acquired the features of a universalist ideology.

American sociologist D. Bell, author of the famous concept of post-industrial society, presented a version of the convergence of ideas of post-industrialism and the information society in his 1980 book “The Social Framework of the Information Society”. Bell's expression “information society” is a new name for post-industrial society, emphasizing not its position in the sequence of stages of social development - after industrial society, but the basis for determining its social structure - information. Here, as in the book The Coming Post-Industrial Society, paramount importance is given to the information included in the functioning of scientific knowledge and obtained through such knowledge. The information society in Bell's interpretation has all the main characteristics of a post-industrial society (service economy, the central role of theoretical knowledge, orientation towards the future and the resulting technology management, the development of new intellectual technology). However, if in the “Coming Post-Industrial Society” electronic computing technology was considered as one of the knowledge-intensive industries and as a necessary means for solving complex problems (using systems analysis and game theory), then in the “Social Framework of the Information Society” great importance is attached to the convergence of electronic computer technology and communications technology. “In the coming century,” D. Bell argues here, “the formation of a new social order based on telecommunications will be of decisive importance for economic and social life, for the methods of producing knowledge, as well as for the nature of human labor activity.”

From the late 60s of the 20th century to the present day, many interpretations of what the information society is have been proposed. With all the diversity of emphasis, the degree of attention paid to certain technological, economic or social processes, the information society is considered within the framework of basic concepts as having at least the following characteristics. First of all, this is a high level of development of computer technology, information and telecommunication technologies, and the presence of a powerful information infrastructure. Hence, such an important feature of the information society as increasing opportunities for access to information for an increasingly wider range of people. Finally, almost all concepts and programs for the development of the information society are based on the fact that information and knowledge become a strategic resource of society in the information era, comparable in importance to natural, human and financial resources.

Within the framework of the ideology of the information society, already in the 70s, various directions and trends emerged, concentrating attention on certain aspects of relations existing in society regarding information and technical and technological means of its transmission, storage and processing, considering various social perspectives as possible , desirable or negative.

In the book by S. Nora and A. Mink “Computerization of Society. Report to the President of France”, the information society was characterized as a complex society, in the culture of which serious problems arise. The authors are confident that it is impossible to understand these problems in line with Bell’s post-industrial approach (it is noteworthy that the English translation of the book was published with a foreword by D. Bell). This approach, they argue, allows us to see in the future only a “tranquilized” post-industrial society, where abundance and convergence of living standards will make it possible to unite the nation around a huge culturally homogeneous middle class and overcome social contradictions. The post-industrial approach is productive when it comes to information that drives the behavior of producers and buyers, but is useless when faced with problems that go beyond the sphere of commercial activity and depend on the cultural model. The title of one of the chapters of the book by S. Nora and A. Mink is “Will a computerized society be a society of cultural conflicts?” Believing that the information society will be less clearly socially structured and more polymorphic than the industrial society, the authors predict that one of the factors of polymorphism will be the attitude of various groups to the trend of language simplification, associated, not least, with the cost-effectiveness of databases and various forms of electronic communication. -mediated communication. The information society, they predicted, will be a society of struggle over language between different groups.

The most influential sociological concepts put forward in the initial period of formation of the ideology of the information society emphasized the value of scientific, theoretical knowledge and/or reliable information, and predicted an increase in their role in society with the development of computer and telecommunication technologies. Subsequently, trends are intensifying, emphasizing the importance of non-scientific information and linking the prospects for the formation of an information society with the “loss of scientific discourse of its privileged status.” Indicative in this regard is the position of M. Poster, an American sociologist who belongs to the French intellectual tradition of structuralism and poststructuralism. From the point of view of this author, an adequate sociology of electronically mediated communications is possible only if science is considered as one of the types of discourse on an equal basis with others. Poster considers it wrong to interpret information as an economic entity and to provide a theoretical basis for the extension of commodity relations to the information sphere. The poster emphasizes that the ease of copying and distributing information destroys the legal system, the foundations of which were formed to protect private ownership of material things. He insists that in the era of convergence of computing and communications technology, it is impossible to adequately understand social relations without taking into account changes in the structure of communication experience. It is noteworthy that M. Poster wrote about the possibilities of information modeling as “modeling oneself” in the late 80s, when the Internet was not yet everyday life for millions of people. In the nineties and zeros, new cultural phenomena generated by the rapid development of information and communication technologies became the object of attention of many authors.

Using the opportunities provided by modern information and communication technologies for the benefit of people is the main pathos of official strategies and programs for the development of the information society adopted by governments of different countries, interstate associations, and regional authorities. The Okinawa Charter for the Global Information Society, adopted by the heads of the G8 countries in the summer of 2000, stated: “The Information Society, as we envision it, allows people to make greater use of their potential and realize their aspirations. To do this, we must ensure that IT [information and communications technology] serves the mutually reinforcing goals of achieving sustainable economic growth, enhancing social welfare, stimulating social cohesion and realizing its full potential in strengthening democracy, transparent and accountable governance of international peace and stability. Achieving these goals and addressing emerging challenges will require the development of effective national and international strategies.”

In the Declaration adopted by the participants of the World Summit on top level on the Information Society in Geneva in 2003, the first section is called “Our General Vision for the Information Society”. It begins with these words: “We, the representatives of the peoples of the world, gathered in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 for the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, declare our common desire and determination to build a people-centred, inclusive a development-oriented information society in which everyone can create, access, use and share information and knowledge to enable individuals, communities and peoples to realize their full potential, contributing to their sustainable development and enhancing their quality of life based on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and fully observing and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The “Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation” proclaims the goal of the formation and development of the information society to be “improving the quality of life of citizens, ensuring the competitiveness of Russia, developing the economic, socio-political, cultural and spiritual spheres of society, improving the public administration system based on the use of information and telecommunications technologies".

The quantitative indicators provided for in documents of this kind characterize the technological and economic aspects of the information sphere. “Strategies for the development of the information society in the Russian Federation” provides for a number of target values of indicators for the development of the information society, which must be achieved before 2015. In this series - the level of accessibility for the population of basic services in the field of information and telecommunication technologies (100%), the level of use broadband access lines per 100 people (15 lines by 2010 and 35 by 2015), the number of households with personal computers (at least 70% of the total number of households), the share of library collections converted into electronic form, in the total volume of public library collections (at least 50%), the share of domestic goods and services in the volume of the domestic market of information and telecommunication technologies (more than 50%); growth in the volume of investments in the use of information and telecommunication technologies in the national economy (at least 2.5 times compared to 2007). Obviously, such indicators make it possible to judge, first of all, the success in creating a modern information and telecommunications infrastructure and the corresponding level of accessibility of information and technology to the population.

One of the important indicators provided for by the Strategy is Russia’s place in international rankings of the development of the information society - among the twenty leading countries in the world by 2015. It should be emphasized that such ratings are based mainly on data characterizing the spread of technologies. Thus, the International Telecommunications Union index takes into account 11 indicators. Among them are those that characterize access to information and communication technologies (including mobile communications And landlines), broadband penetration, number of Internet users and their literacy, number of households with computers. Data for 2002-2007 show that, despite all the efforts made in developing countries, it was not possible to reduce the digital divide between developed and lagging countries. The Information and Communication Technologies Development Index is also called the Information Society Development Index. Obviously, in such cases, the information society refers to the corresponding components of the technosphere and market segments.

Against this background, the desire to oppose the knowledge society to the information society seems quite understandable. The UNESCO report states: “The concept of the information society is based on advances in technology. The concept of knowledge societies implies broader social, ethical and political parameters." It is noteworthy that the first chapter of the report is called “From the Information Society to Knowledge Societies,” and the formation of a global information society is given the role of a means of creating “true knowledge societies.” At the same time, many of the problems that are considered in the mentioned report as characteristic of a knowledge society are quite have long been discussed in the context of the information society. The above fully applies to the problem of the “cognitive gap,” which is recognized today as one of the most important problems in the formation of knowledge societies. The concept of “cognitive gap” is directly related to such concepts as “digital divide” and “information inequality”.

In the literature one can find different interpretations of the relationship between the concept of the information society and the concepts of the knowledge society and post-industrial society. Sometimes they say that a post-industrial society replaces an industrial one (as can be seen from the name); after some time, a post-industrial society becomes an information society (i.e., an information society is a stage in the development of a post-industrial society), and the information society is followed by a knowledge society. This method of “ordering” can apparently be explained by the fact that the corresponding ideas became widely known precisely in this sequence. However, all these ideas were put forward almost simultaneously, and the social, technological and economic processes comprehended with their help are closely intertwined.

From the outside, it looks amazing the carefree attitude of people involved in such topics towards issues of conceptual consistency, terminological certainty, variability of meanings and the appropriateness of introducing new concepts, authorial priority and the commensurability of descriptions. Nevertheless, the main points of attraction of research interest, the general content in the various characteristics of the emerging way of life, and the repeated methods of correlating the present with the past and future, allowing one to make forecasts and create plans, are quite clearly visible here.

Material prepared by leading researcher Institute of Philosophy RAS I.Yu. Alekseeva based on the work of: Alekseeva I.Yu. What is a knowledge society? M.: Kogito-Center, 2009.

Masuda Y. The Information Society as Postindustrial Society. Wash.: World Future Soc., 1983

Masuda Y. The Information Society as Postindustrial Society. Wash.: World Future Soc., 1983, p. 29.

Clark C. The Conditions of Economic Progress. L., 1957

Machlup F. The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States. Princeton, 1962

Bell D. The Social Framework of the Information Society. Oxford, 1980. In Russian. language: Bell D. Social framework of the information society. Abbreviation translation Yu. V. Nikulicheva // New technocratic wave in the West. Ed. P.S. Gurevich. M., 1988

Bell D. The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. A Venture in Social Forcasting. N.Y., Basic Books, Inc., 1973. The Russian translation of this book, edited by V.L. Inozemtsev, was published in 1999.

Bell D. Social framework of the information society. Abbreviation translation Yu. V. Nikulicheva // New technocratic wave in the West. Ed. P.S. Gurevich. M., 1988, p. 330

Thus, in the “Concept of Moscow’s movement towards the information society” it is stated: “There is no generally accepted definition of the information society, but most experts agree that its essence is determined by several interrelated processes.” The following are noted as such processes: “information and knowledge are becoming an important resource and a truly driving force of socio-economic, technological and cultural development”; “a market for information and knowledge is being formed as a factor of production along with the markets for natural resources, labor and capital”; “the share of industries providing the creation, transmission and use of information is rapidly growing”; “a developed information infrastructure is becoming a condition that determines national and regional competitiveness no less than, for example, transport communications”; “the development and active implementation of new information and communication technologies (ICT) in all spheres of activity significantly changes the models of education, work, social life and recreation” (See: “The concept of Moscow’s movement towards an information society // Information Society. International Information and Analytical Journal. No. 3, 2001, p. 7). The “Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation” indicates freedom and equality in access to information and knowledge as one of the basic principles, and as one of the main directions - ensuring a high level of accessibility to information and technologies for the population (See: Strategy for the Development of Information society in the Russian Federation dated February 7, 2008 N Pr-212 // Russian newspaper. Federal issue No. 4591 dated February 16, 2008).

See: Poster M. The Mode of Information: Poststructuralism and Social Context. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990

United Nations
UNESCO. World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, 2003). Building the Information Society - a Global Challenge for the New Millennium: Declaration of Principles (Document WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/4-R, December 12, 2003)

Strategy for the development of the information society in the Russian Federation dated February 7, 2008 N Pr-212 // Russian newspaper. Federal issue No. 4591 dated February 16, 2008)

Towards knowledge societies. UNESCO World Report. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 2005. P. 19

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