The Future Does Not Compute Transcending the Machines in Our Midst

The subject is the dark side of the Internet and computers and the negative impact they have on individuals and society-- an interesting offering from a computer books publisher (the author is a senior editor at O'Reilly, and the editor is O'Reilly himself). The subject certainly merits plenty of discussion, but Talbott's prose is scattershot. Though he sounds some alarms, he doesn't offer the clear, incisive thinking that is an antidote to the frustration and alienation caused by machines. Maybe those whirling electrons have already done some damage. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR