Speaker 1 Wesley Hegarty The IT Revolution is

Speaker 1: Wesley Hegarty The IT Revolution is a far greater thing than any revolution which has happened to society before The case against

The team Joseph Currid Daniel Davy Joanne Dolan Kornelius Elstner Bryan Ennis Alan Hanley Victoria Heffron Wesley Hegarty Hua-Yuen Hui David Humphreys Dominick Joyce Ross Keeling Eamon Kelleher Brian Kelly Jarlath Kelly Peadar Kelly Bryan Kerruish Simon Kinane

Our argument Speaker 1: Wesley • definitions • Good or Bad? • Impact • Our survey Speaker 2: Alan • Impact of information Speaker 3: Simon • Transport revolution is greater

Definition A revolution is a change that alters the way people work, live, think, socialise and their perception of the world and their peers whether it be for the better or for the worse. (Joanne Dolan)

… whether it be for the better or the worse. Good or Bad? Focus on Impact

“IS the greatest” NOT “could be the greatest”

Impact: a survey 15% did not even know what IT is 1. 6% Knew who Steven Wozniack 10% Knew who Steven Jobs is 86% Knew who Henry Ford was 55% Did not use a computer at Home 20�% Thought IT had the biggest impact on our lives today.

It has altered how we work and the lives we live without radically changing them. • The paperless office simply hasn’t happened

IT has not caused the social upheaval that would make it deserve to be credited as a “far greater thing than any revolution that has gone before”

Speaker 2 Alan Hanley Impact of Information

“There is a whole world of Useful Information out there” WRONG! Online Comparison: EU/Africa

This ‘information’ is not accessible to the world 3. 35% (201 million, June ‘ 99) Have access to the Internet www. nua. ie Ex: 0. 23% connectivity in Africa Compared with 10% in EU june ’ 98 www. nua. ie

Porn!

The Austrailian Internet Directory's top 5 search terms: 1. Sex 2. Porn 3. Nude 4. Adult 5. Chat Mar 30 1999: In the US, 86 percent of men are likely to click on sex sites[…] according to a study in the Journal of the American Psychological Association. http: //www. nua. ie/surveys/? f=VS&art_id=905354804&rel=true Search. Terms. com top 100 search terms 22/11/99 This is not a representation of bandwidth.

Useful Information The freedom of the internet allows users to publish & express their own ideas 35% of internet time is spent on the top 50 internet sites

Up to 6 Billion Players™

Speaker 3 Simon Kinane • Transport revolution is greater because it has impacted the whole of society • IT revolution is not as great because it only impacted part of society • Transport revolution is greater because it is indispensable whereas IT is not

Transport vs. IT revolution World oil price chronology 1970 - 98

IT is not affecting the whole society

… Our survey Only 20% of those interviewed thought that IT had the greatest influence on our lives 40% rated the impact of IT on themselves as under 5 (out of 10)

Transport revolution is greater because it is indispensable whereas IT is not • If computers ceased to exist tomorrow, we would still manage without them • If transport ceased to exist tomorrow, society would collapse

Rebuke Brian Kelly IS Greatest