The Mobilization of Support for Computerization: The Role of Computerization Movements

This paper describes how computerization is the byproduct of loosely organized movements rather than simply an industry selling products to an eager market. We briefly examine five “computerization movements”: urban information systems, artificial intelligence, office automation, instructional computing, and personal computing. These computerization movements share key ideological beliefs, which we also characterize. The main alternative normative analyses of appropriate computerization come from counter movements whose interests intersect with some special form of computerization: in workplaces, around intrusions on personal privacy, and on consumer rights. These counter movements articulate how computing should be balanced with competing values such as good jobs, fair information practices, and consumer control. We argue that these counter movement views do not add up to a coherent alternative humanistic vision for appropriate computerization.