cover image Moths to the Flame: The Seductions of Computer Technology

Moths to the Flame: The Seductions of Computer Technology

Gregory J. E. Rawlins, Gegory J. E. Rawlins. MIT Press (MA), $22.5 (194pp) ISBN 978-0-262-18176-1

Moths to the Flame is a heady mixture of futuristic prophecy and historical perspective covering all aspects of computer technology, some frightening, some practical, some fanciful. It seems that technology is spinning out of control, though Rawlins reminds us that computers can only reflect the needs and values of their users. He covers the topics of the paperless book, the problems of privacy and censorship and crime and the power computers have over our lives. Computers are already displacing many workers, but human error will always be a factor. ""The more complex the system, the harder it is to get it right."" He cautions that smart bombs, smart mines and smart weapons are only as ""smart"" as the humans who develop and control them. Luckily, intelligent lay readers will find that Rawlins, although a professor of computer science mathematics at Indiana University and a specialist in AI, is plenty smart without being obscurantist. Economic effects of such high speed change are also unpredictable and somewhat chilling as are some of Rawlin's 21st-century scenarios. Ultimately, his stance is a cautious one: ""Computers won't bring about a better world--perhaps nothing can do that. But they certainly can change the world: in some ways for the better; in others, for the worse."" (Sept.)