An exceptional encyclopedic review of the vital issues of our time – it’s a remarkable accomplishment by a leading researcher, educator, and entrepreneur. The astonishing book should be required reading for every computer science student to sensitize them to the realities of technology impact on society. It will also be a valuable resource for faculty, professionals, and journalists. The historical grounding, numerous potent examples, popular culture stories, and thoughtful analyses will enrich their understanding so as to make them better professionals. Instructors will appreciate the well-organized chapters with wise recommendations for research projects, debate topics, book reviews, ethical concerns, and almost 2000 references for further reading. I hope this book triggers a resurgence of courses on computers and society, which could do much to make a safer and more satisfying world for all people.
— Ben Shneiderman, Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland, USA
This book will change how you think about technology’s role in society. If you are a developer or product purchaser, it may help you to consider the negative implications of the computer applications you are creating or buying—that is, to see the ‘dark patterns’ in how the applications can be misused or subverted, and the various shades of grey in between. If you are a technology consumer, you may better understand and debate the issues that accompany the computer systems you or the people around you are using. If you are just living your day-to-day life, this book may help you to understand and interpret the changes you notice around you, what you hear in the news, and what you talk about with your friends and family.
Computers and Society could not have been easy to write. The breadth, depth, historical context, and relevancy of the topics covered are impressive to say the least, and the amount of work that must have been required to research each topic is somewhat staggering. It needed someone like Ron Baecker to write it. Ron is a senior academic whose career spans the period from the 1960s to 2018 and beyond. As an expert in graphics, human–computer interaction, and collaboration technologies, he was instrumental in researching and pioneering some of the key computer concepts that we now take for granted. He not only lived through the changes introduced by computers over the last sixty years, but remained highly aware of those changes both through his knowledge of the field and his teaching of various Computers and Society courses over the decades (the first in 1972). …[Ron] has the personality to fit the authorship of a book such as this. He doesn’t accept things at face value. He delves into issues and debates them. He is opinionated, but his opinions are evidence-based. He pioneers, because he is always looking into the future rather than just at the present.
… While you may have a passing awareness of at least a few of the issues raised in this book, Computers and Society will further inform you about those issues through its deep and thoughtful treatment.
— Saul Greenberg, Emeritus Professor, University of Calgary, Canada
Ron Baecker 