Bob Kerrey: “in the last 15 years America has been invaded by what has been known as information technology. Like the body snatchers…”

“in the last 15 years America has been invaded by what has been known as information technology. Like the body snatchers of ``Alien'' that penetrated deep into the human body, computers and communication technologies have penetrated deep into our lives. Unfortunately, the ``Alien'' metaphor may not be apt since for the most part we have invited this force into our homes. We invited these technologies into our homes and our businesses because they allowed us to do things faster, to do things better and to do things cheaper. Among other things these technologies have reduced the cost of running a home, made our businesses more competitive, opened new markets by bringing buyers and sellers closer together, and expanded the horizons of our students not to mention adding entertainment value to our lives. The good news of computer and associated communication technology have been offset by our growing dependence. To see how much we are dependent one need only look at the high level of concern surrounding the Y2K problem.”