Digital Divide Professor Netiva Caftori NEIU Steve Teicher

Digital Divide – Professor Netiva Caftori – NEIU & Steve Teicher - UCF

Definitions Global Population Projections Digitally Enabled What is it? Why is it important? Digitally Disabled What are the forms of disability? Why is it bad to have digitally disabled populations? Recommendations Dilemmas

Global Population Projections 1960 -3 Billion; 2005 -6. 5 Billion; 2050 -9. 1 Billion Ratio less developed to more developed areas 1950 -2: 1; 2050 -6: 1 Between 2005 and 2050 population projected to triple Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, and Uganda Average number of children per female – 2. 9 in poor countries – 1. 6 in rich countries 51 Countries will experience population reductions Includes Germany, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation From 2000 forward old people outnumber young people The population of digitally and economically disadvantaged is the group growing in numbers fastest

Highest Population Growth

Facts about Africa - from Nat Geographic Sept 2005 Percent Population < 25 = 71% Note rest of world Old People > Young People Number of refugees = 15 M out of 900 M people Avg African Income 50% < $365/yr Israeli > $17, 000 American > $33, 000 Swiss > $36, 000 Literacy rate avg 60% Seychelles 92% Burkina Faso 12. 5% Computer Data 12 per thousand people in 2003 Africans with reliable electric power 1 in 5 overall 1 in 50 in rural areas 5

Benefit of Investment in Information Technologies India and China (PRC) have made large investments in Info Technologies Indian IIT’s began in 1950’s At present GDP growth rates by 2050 China Income per capita = Swiss India Income per capita = Israeli

Digitally Enabled Technical Low cost broadband – same as voice phone May be free in US – Google has announced intent to offer free broadband in San Francisco and expects this to spread. Low cost computing - 1% of one year pay Infrastructure Available and Reliable Legal – Political Privacy protected Identity Theft considered a crime Contracts made over net enforceable Monitoring requires notification

Benefits for Digitally Enabled Increased Opportunity Work and results shipped via satellite India and China among others compete for high pay jobs with US engineers Worldwide market – First on-line bookstore in Palo Alto, Ca. became international supplier by surprise (will get this name) Access to education (examples) MIT Open Courseware O’reilly Bookshelf ACM and IEEE on-line libraries Worldwide visibility To the situations of the world Blogs growing rapidly – up 3 X+ in one year

Digitally Disabled Forms of Disability Non-existent infrastructure High cost computing Limited Local Supply High import duties Government Restrictions Bureaucracy restricts content Government monitors what you see and threatens

Does it matter that large poor groups are Digitally Disabled Large Poor Groups are inefficient More Pollution person Lower lifestyle person per $ expended Large Poor Groups most subject to radical control Breeding ground for terrorists Large Poor Groups are not good customers

But does it matter to the rest of us that large groups are digitally disabled? We live on a small planet Pollution from the poor affects the air of the rich Radicals can do much damage for small costs if they do not value their own Property Lives Yes – it matters -

Who has noticed in the past? Gorbachev said in Perestroika Situation – Soviet Union locked in combat with West, spending large funds on nuclear war materials while its people starved. Gorbachev noted that his bureaucrats were worried about doctrine and instead should worry about empty shelves Gorbachev also noted that a free press and free interchange of information were critical to economic progress. Nations Opened up to Internet Not because of doctrine But because of economics –

Greenspan has noted The increase in productivity has allowed expansion without inflation

News Reports on China’s restrictions of Internet Traffic NPR report in September 2005 noted that China’s recent restriction on Internet traffic might hamper innovation in that country which has been a land of innovation in the past.

Let’s Say it Again It is in the self interest of the Digitally Disabled to join the information highway It is in the interest of the rich neighbors to assist the Digitally Disabled to join the information highway

If we are rich are we OK? We live in the US, we are rich and isolated, we are OK – Right Wrong – Much innovation that drives our progress comes from: – Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Russia, South Korea, and more Unfortunately Many in the US act as if the civilized world ends East of Boston and West of San Francisco Why? Well the majority of views of Europe and Asia are movies of WW 1, WW 2, Vietnam War, etc

US enjoyed technology imported Japan – Innovation in Hybrid cars Taiwan and South Korea – Semiconductor memories Application specific semiconductors Russia Space Software engineering Northern Europe Cell phones

Recommendations Get involved Work/Live for periods outside the US Authors of this report worked – Israel, Benin, Korea, France, --– Ireland, Israel, PRC, Japan, India -- Get your students/employees involved Offer culture and language training – Example – Apple Computer team trained in Chinese history and language prior to assignment in PRC Take Classes and Faculty on trips Bring folks to the US that illustrate the art and innovation available across the oceans Change the opinions of US colleagues • The world of “there” is not a world of war

Dilemmas Fear that spreading technology creates low priced competition for good jobs Fear that spreading technology allows for remote hacking and theft

Sources http: //www. nationmaster. com/graph. T/eco_gro_nat_inc_cap Communications of the ACM, vol 48 num 10, Oct 2005 National Geographic Magazine, Sept 2005 Scientific American, Sept 2005 Various Presentations from Dr. Netiva Caftori 20