The purpose of the Concept is to determine the Russian path of transition (or construction) of the information society, the main conditions, provisions and priorities of the state information policy that ensure its implementation. The Concept formulates the political, socio-economic, cultural, technical and technological prerequisites and conditions for this transition and substantiates the specifics of the Russian path to the information society.
Developed in 1999 on the initiative of the State Committee of the Russian Federation on Communications and Informatization and the State Duma Committee on Information Policy and Communications.
Approved by the decision of the State Commission on Informatization under the State Committee Russian Federation on Communications and Information dated May 28, 1999 No. 32
Currently, the prerequisites and real ways of forming and developing the information society in Russia are understood. This process is global in nature, and our country’s entry into the global information community is inevitable. The use of material and spiritual benefits of information civilization can provide the population of Russia with a decent life, economic prosperity and the necessary conditions for the free development of personality. Russia must join the family of technologically and economically developed countries as a full-fledged participant in world civilizational development while maintaining political independence, national identity and cultural traditions, with a developed civil society and the rule of law. It can be expected that the main features and characteristics of the information society will be formed in Russia under stable socio-political conditions and deep economic transformations in the first quarter of the 21st century.
The characteristic features and characteristics of the information society include:
The need to transition to an information society is closely related to the change in the nature of the impact of scientific and technological progress on people's lives. At the end of the twentieth century, the speed of change in technological structures in production, technologies for providing products and services, and the management of these processes increased significantly. If at the beginning and even in the middle of the century such changes occurred in periods of time significantly exceeding the lifespan of one or two generations, today a change in the technological structure occurs in a shorter period. At the same time, the lifestyle of the majority of the population, the socio-psychological model of behavior of people and society as a whole is radically changing. The behavior patterns of the current and future generations are beginning to differ especially significantly - the well-known problem of “fathers and sons”. Obviously, one of the factors that can, to a certain extent, weaken the impact of such changes in lifestyle on a person’s psyche is the level of information readiness of a person for future changes.
One of the most important indicators of changes in lifestyle in the second half of our century is the development and use of new information and communication technologies in all areas of social life and activity, the level of production and consumption of information products and services by society. There is an obvious change in attitudes towards information and an expansion in the possibilities of obtaining and using information to enhance human potential and its development in many directions.
All of the above determines the emergence and need to solve a complex socially significant problem - the creation of a socio-psychological model of behavior of a member of the information society, the identification of “points” and methods of influence that will ensure normal adaptation and comfortable existence of a person in the information society, and will reduce contradictions between generations.
It seems that the most effective influence is exerted by the education system, which should accustom the child, adolescent and adult to the need for constant changes in lifestyle, to perceive, follow and preserve the national traditions and cultural heritage of their country.
In Russia, over the past 7-10 years, such factors of socio-economic, scientific, technical and cultural development have emerged that can be considered as prerequisites for the transition to an information society. To such prerequisites should include:
1.1. Information is becoming a public resource for development, the scale of its use has become comparable to traditional (energy, raw materials, etc.) resources.
Already today, the sales volume in Russia of computer technology and information technology equipment alone (mainly PCs and peripherals) reaches more than one million units per year and is estimated at approximately 1.5 billion dollars. As global experience shows, the cost of sales software product, is usually equal to or slightly greater than the cost of technology, and the cost of personal communications, audio and video equipment is usually comparable to the cost of computer technology. These minimum approximate estimates total $4.5 billion, which will amount to about 5% of Russia's GDP in 1997. This value of the total costs of information already has macroeconomic significance and characterizes the growth in the use of the “information” resource.
1.2. We can say that the domestic market of telecommunications, information technologies, products and services has formed and is successfully developing in Russia. The volume of funds circulating on the Russian market reaches 5-7.5 billion dollars/year.
1.3. Generally in the country, despite the economic downturn, The computer park is growing, telecommunication systems and means are developing at an accelerated pace. The number of corporate information networks is growing and the number of subscribers to global open networks is constantly increasing. The number of Russian Internet users is approaching one million. The national communications network using satellite channels is rapidly expanding. The country is successfully installing telephones and the mobile communications market is growing rapidly.
1.4. Many sectors of the economy, banking and public administration have been largely computerized.
1.5. Public opinion is developing an understanding of the relevance of the task of transition to an information society from political and economic points of view. This is evidenced by the wide public response to the Concept of State Information Policy, which can be considered as a policy to ensure the initial stage of Russia’s transition to the information society.
1.6. Today Russia is part of the world political and economic community to a degree that it has never been in the past. In the literal and figurative sense, Russia is connected to the rest of the world by cable and satellite channels communications actively used by hundreds of thousands of cellular and simple phones, faxes, computers, etc.
1.7. A government structure has been formed and is functioning, responsible for the creation and development of the information technology basis to ensure transition processes.
The purpose of this Concept is to determine the Russian path of transition (or construction) of the information society, the main conditions, provisions and priorities of the state information policy that ensure its implementation. The Concept formulates the political, socio-economic, cultural, technical and technological prerequisites and conditions for this transition and substantiates the specifics of the Russian path to the information society.
3.1. The strategic goal of the transition to the information society is the creation of a developed information and communication environment of society and the integration of Russia into the global information community, which should ensure a significant increase in the quality of life of the population and the socio-political stability of society and the state.
3.2. In the near future, the transition to the information society should be considered as a necessary condition the country's exit from the current economic crisis, as a tool for overcoming the difficulties of social, political and spiritual life, as a factor in the integration of public consciousness around the enduring humanistic values and national-historical traditions of the peoples of Russia, and finally, as a tool for strengthening the federal state and socio-economic equalization of living standards in the regions of the country.
3.3. The transition to the information society is fully responsible sustainable development concepts-the formation of an economy based on knowledge, and not on the expanding consumption of natural resources, reducing production waste, solving environmental problems, and sharing the benefits of technogenic civilization.
3.4. The state plays a leading role in ensuring the process of transition to the information society through:
In the absence of powerful financial levers at the state's disposal capable of ensuring the transition to an information society, the main means of state regulation and control over the transition processes remain the legislative and regulatory framework governing information relations in society.
3.5. On initial stage creation of socially significant information and communication systems and complexes(in the areas of employment, education, healthcare, social security, etc.) the state bears the main costs, but subsequently leaves the market. It is assumed that significant financial resources will come from the population in the form of payment for the provided information and communication services and communication services.
3.6. The state speaks out catalyst for ongoing change in the interests of the development of society and the individual. For this purpose it:
3.7. State provides access to public information. Information must be open to everyone and provided continuously with a guarantee of accuracy and completeness. Basic, primary information is provided to the population free of charge. If additional processing is required, a reasonable price must be set, which includes the cost of preparing and transmitting the information and a small profit. When determining the cost of information transmission services, the nature of its use by the consumer is taken into account.
3.8. The process of Russia's transition to the information society must be closely associated with the development of the global information community. Russia's active participation in the international division of labor in the global market of information and communication tools, products and services, in the development of international standards and legal provisions in this area, in the implementation of international projects and informatization programs must be ensured. Cooperation with international organizations, primarily with the Council of Europe, is necessary in the formation of audiovisual and business information markets and the development of the telecommunications market.
3.9. It is impossible not to respond to new challenges international, national, public and personal security generated by the movement towards the information society. It's about on the preparation and adoption of large-scale international legal agreements that put control over the production and distribution of information technologies as weapons, on coordination of activities in the fight against information terrorism and computer crimes, on effective measures to protect information resources that constitute national property, intellectual property and copyright rights to materials distributed over the world's open networks. Possibilities should be considered to control the dissemination on the Internet of obscene information that offends public morality, false advertising, fraudulent transactions and other materials that have a negative impact on the physical, mental and moral health of people.
3.10. The implementation of the process of transition to the information society must take into account the accumulated domestic and foreign experience program-targeted methods organization of work. The transition strategy, as well as possible programs for its implementation, should have an integrative nature, uniting various departmental and commercial projects. The strategy must have supra-departmental national status, providing the opportunity to coordinate the efforts of all participants in the transition process.
3.11. Necessary shifting the center of gravity of the transition processes from the capital to the periphery, wide involvement of regional and municipal authorities to participate in informatization processes in all areas and create local conditions for the transition to an information society.
3.12. The strategy for the transition to the information society requires a broad psychological and propaganda support in public opinion. Its main provisions and program activities must be understandable to the population, the social orientation of the transition must be explained, the need to move towards an information society must be justified and communicated through the media to the citizens of the country.
3.13. Main directions of the transition process are associated with the creation of a developed information environment of society, considered as a set of technical, technological, socio-political, economic and socio-cultural components, factors and conditions under which information and knowledge become a real and effective resource for the socio-economic and spiritual development of Russia.
To create a developed information environment of society, decisions related to:
3.14. The transition to the information society is a long process consistent approach to some global average level, which can be assessed by changes (increment) in the system of indicators at the macro and micro levels, characterizing the dynamics of development of certain components of the information environment.
Russian path to the information society determined, as for other states, by its current political, socio-economic and socio-cultural characteristics.
To such features should include:
4.2. Discussed above political and socio-economic conditions, in which Russia’s transition to the information society will take about 10-15 years, differ significantly from the conditions characteristic of developed countries and, therefore, require determining the path, unique to Russia, however, taking into account the accumulated world experience. This experience shows that each country is moving towards the information society in its own way from the initial stage, determined by the prevailing political, socio-economic and cultural conditions.
4.3. In the USA, EU, Japan:
However:
4.4. Transition to the information society of any country- this is a process that requires large material costs for the formation and development of the information environment, the development of the information services industry and “bringing” them to every member of society. Today, for example, the United States has invested and continues to invest up to 10% of its GDP in the development of this industry, but also receives more than 25% of its GDP from this. Approximately the same volumes are typical for other developed countries. Russia can hardly be an exception.
4.5. From the above it follows that There are two possible options for Russia's transition to the information society.
First option- repetition of the path that has already been or is being taken by other countries, mainly European ones. It requires significant capital investments and is quite short in time (no more than 7-10 years before reaching the average European level of informatization, subject to a 2-3% economic growth rate). The speed of movement under this option will be ensured by allocated funds (at least 5-7% of GDP). In addition, this path will require a significant change in the Russian mentality and a reorientation of public consciousness towards the goals, priorities and directions of development characteristic of the American or European way of life.
Second option- finding a path focused on purely Russian criteria and characteristics of quality of life, socio-cultural characteristics and requiring in today's socio-economic conditions only minimal capital investment from the state. This path is unconventional and untested.. However, it requires at least minimal rates of economic growth, political stability in society and political will executive and legislative authorities, which have set society the task of transition to an information society as a high priority task.
4.6. For implementation first way it is required to obtain the main volumes of investment from foreign sources or from domestic commercial structures and the population. Both options are unrealistic - today and in the foreseeable future no one will provide such funds, because... Foreign creditors have no confidence in their return, and no one will “grow” a competitor with their own money. It is not possible to receive funds from our own commercial structures and the population in the coming years - this requires a significantly higher level of development of these structures, a noticeable revival of market reforms and an increase in the quality of life of the population.
Therefore, only the second way is acceptable.
4.7. The basis of the Russian path should be:
4.8. Solving these three large-scale, historical for Russia, tasks will mean real turning information and knowledge into a genuine resource for socio-economic and spiritual development. It will also mean strengthening the institutions of civil society, truly ensuring the right of citizens to freely receive, disseminate and use information, and expanding opportunities for individual self-development.
As a result, Russia can act as the bearer of a specific model of civilizational development, which in many ways corrects the Western standard. Historical continuity, national identity, restoration of moral consciousness, formation of a single spiritual space of the country - these are the main features of Russia’s chosen path to the information society.
Moving along this path, especially in the first stages, requires broad public support, a deep understanding of the goals of the transition to the information society and the political, economic, social and cultural benefits that life in the information world provides to the population. For this support, the efforts of many humanities specialists must be coordinated to shape the image of a citizen of the information world and the model of his life activity. This support should receive the widest possible propaganda coverage in all print and electronic media.
4.9. Informatization of the general education system, focused on educating a new generation that meets the conditions of the information society in its level of development and lifestyle - the main long-term task of the transition to the information society. Its comprehensive solution will require a long time, at least 10-15 years, during which it can be developed and implemented a new ideology of lifelong education at all levels - from kindergarten to adult education and retraining - with a reasonable combination of state and non-state educational institutions. It is necessary to take into account that in Russia there is a serious groundwork in the field of application of information and telecommunication technologies in higher school However, work on computerization of schools is completely insufficient, especially in small towns and rural areas. Cultural and information centers, electronic libraries and Internet work should play an important role in the informatization of education.
4.10. The formation and development of the information and communication services industry, aimed at the mass consumer, is one of the main tasks of the development of the information environment of society, ensures the interest of the population in the use of information as a resource for social and individual development, personal, including financial participation in the process of transition to the information society .
Solving this problem will allow:
4.11. Providing the sphere of information services with spiritual content, corresponding to Russian cultural and historical traditions, is political a task, the solution of which should ensure the transfer to the new generation of the entire diversity of Russian culture, the upbringing of this generation in an atmosphere of national spiritual values and ideals, and minimize the negative impact on young people of the English-language information expansion and the cultural-occupying nature of the Internet. Comprehensive support should be provided for the organization of a powerful Russian-language sector on the Internet. All this will create the prerequisites for overcoming ideological dictates and spreading the political and spiritual influence of the United States through modern communication networks and systems.
5.1. The three strategic directions of transition indicated above should be focused on the formation of such value and behavioral stereotypes of the population that meet, on the one hand, the cultural and historical traditions of the peoples of Russia, and on the other, the high requirements of civilizational development in the 21st century. Moving along the chosen path will make it possible to create new types of activities, form new types of social relations, strengthen the intellectual and creative potential of a person, and introduce him to world cultural values. This is especially important for the victory of the ideals of spirituality and morality in the information space of modern culture, torn apart by competitive struggle.
5.2. Thanks to the globalization of audiovisual media, computer networks, the availability of information entertainment creates a global fashion that intensively shapes new models and norms of behavior, especially among young people. It is important to overcome their imposition and enable small communities or national entities to develop their culture, preserve their language, and form a sense of spiritual unity.
5.3. The use of new information and telecommunication technologies gives rise to new forms of working relationships both in the sphere of business and in the sphere of individual labor. These new relationships (“network” culture, telework, etc.), despite the increasing information pressure on a person, help technologically and psychologically solve the main task - increasing the efficiency of any type of activity.
5.4. The use of information and telecommunication technologies in the education system and in the sphere of individual consumption of information products and services significantly increases the level of general and professional education, should help to obtain a prestigious and better paid job, to form one’s own cultural image, leisure and world of entertainment, to expand to the maximum extent possible. personal abilities. Distance education based on modern information technologies is for many countries, and for Russia too, the only chance to prepare people for life and work in the information world of the 21st century.
6.1. The main directions for implementing the proposed transition path should cover two main components of the information environment of society:
6.2. Both of these directions should be considered as main facilities state information policy to ensure the transition to the information society. These directions are selected on the basis of determining priorities and time horizons for the development of their constituent elements, taking into account the trends of their evolution in developed countries, and assessing the initial level (existing situation). The main attention should be paid to the real economic, organizational and legal prerequisites and conditions for the movement towards the information society that are currently emerging in Russia.
6.3. In the technical and technological direction includes the following components:
6.4. In political, socio-economic and socio-cultural direction includes the following components:
6.5. Software solutions and activities in both directions are closely interconnected. Their joint implementation (political and legal measures, economic and technological solutions) requires the assignment of interdepartmental comprehensive programs, subprograms and projects, as well as commercial projects, for example, to ensure security, develop the Russian part of the Internet, information and technological support for the education system, communication systems and networks for the population, etc.
Selection of the second direction in integral component seems necessary, since the implementation of the Concept only through technical and technological projects when supplemented with separate organizational, legal and economic mechanisms, as all previous experience in implementing informatization programs shows, does not lead to success.
6.6. Assessing the results of the movement towards the information society achieved at individual stages of the transition to the information society is built on the basis of monitoring the development of the information environment using various indicators. Some of them are of an evaluative nature, others are obtained in the process of processing statistical data. The most general indicators correlate with the parameters of socio-economic development (indicators of GDP per capita, the share of costs for education in the state budget, parameters of aggregate effective demand for information products and services, the amount of investment in high-tech industries, the percentage of people employed in the field of information processing and information and computing services and etc.). Another group of indicators characterizes the development of the technological basis of the information society and its individual components. For example, the dynamics of growth in the number of Internet users, the number of computers per 1000 inhabitants, the number of home computers, the number of Russian-language sites on the Internet, and the capacity of the information market can be used. For the same purposes, one should use traditionally collected statistical data on the number and types of databases, on the number of operating libraries, cultural, information and educational centers equipped with computer equipment, the number of subscribers of these libraries and centers, including in remote regions, the number and types communication channels used, the number and types of telecommunication networks and terminals connected to them (in various sections: in the country as a whole, by regions and regions, industries, organizations and enterprises, forms of ownership, etc.). Positive dynamics of these indicators over a year or several years by an average of 10-20% will indicate the constant development of the technological basis of the information environment. The scale and depth of consumption of information and communication technologies, information products and services in various areas of public life should also be assessed: in the sphere of labor and employment, education, healthcare, social sphere, in the organization of everyday life and leisure, etc. Taken together, these indicators and indicators will characterize the country’s consistent progress along the chosen path to the information society.
7.1. For all three main directions of the transition to the information society, it is important to solve the following priority tasks of state policy:
7.2. In the field of education the following tasks must be solved:
7.3. In area formation and development of the information and communication services industry, including home computerization aimed at the mass consumer, the following tasks must be solved:
7.4. In the field of providing information services spiritual content, corresponding to Russian cultural and historical traditions, the following tasks must be solved:
The nature and scope of registered information available to the public – main feature differentiation of types of society. Thus, the possession of written documents gives a culture of writing a decisive advantage. The ability of modern societies to sort and store information has recently increased exponentially as a result of major technological innovations: printing, audio and video recording, and computers. The central importance of knowledge and information in modern technological societies has led scholars to coin the term "information society" to describe them.
As formulated by D. Bell in The Coming of Postindustrial Society (1974), the United States and many European countries are increasingly becoming information societies focused on knowledge and the production of new knowledge. Spanish researcher M. Castells writes: “In the new, informational method of development, the source of productivity lies in the technology of generating knowledge, processing information and symbolic communication. Of course, knowledge and information are critical elements in all modes of development, since the production process is always based on some level of knowledge and information processing. However, specific to information development is the impact of knowledge on knowledge itself as the main source of productivity."
A distinctive feature of the information society is a structural restructuring in material production, when information becomes the dominant sphere of reproduction and, along with information technologies, occupies a key place in the country's economy. The Japanese thinker T. Sakaya believes that “a characteristic feature of modern society is not the very fact of the widespread dissemination of knowledge, but the fact that it is directly embodied in a society of goods and thus the economy turns into a system that functions on the basis of the exchange of knowledge and its mutual assessment.”
Knowledge becomes a key source of innovation and the basis of social organization. Knowledge-based occupational and employment groups are increasingly dominant within the class structures of these societies. A new type of managers has emerged, the so-called information managers, ensuring more efficient acquisition, selection and widespread distribution of information. useful information. The selection of information and its management is becoming the same area of activity as the management of people and money.
In the formation of the information society, two stages can be distinguished. The first of these began in the 1960s, primarily due to the widespread use of television; the second - in the 1990s, when the Internet began to develop with unprecedented speed. With the advent of the Internet, which ensures the creation of a unified and accessible information base, as well as qualitatively new communication capabilities, the information society has acquired a complete form.
The emerging main development trends, which are collectively referred to as the formation of the information society, have already forced the leading countries of the world to make joint efforts to make the most of the opportunities that they bring with them. The humanistic orientation of these efforts was clearly stated in the Charter of the Global Information Society, signed by the leaders of the G8 countries on July 22, 2000 on the Japanese island of Okinawa. “All people everywhere, without exception, should have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the global information society,” the Charter says. “The sustainability of the global information society is based on democratic values that stimulate human development, such as the free exchange of information and knowledge, mutual tolerance and respect for the characteristics of other people.”
By signing the Okinawa Charter, Russia thereby outlined the goal of joining the global information society. Let us consider the prerequisites for the formation of the information society in Russia and the degree of readiness of Russians for life in new conditions.
As was established during the sociological study “Social Prerequisites for the Formation of the Information Society in Russia”, conducted in 2003 by the Center for the Development of the Information Society, the meaning of the concept of “information society” for most Russians remains quite vague, although many respondents demonstrated a fairly accurate intuitive understanding of it .
From the point of view of computer users, the main characteristic of the information society is the effective interaction of people, universal access to information resources and the free exchange of them. For such a society, information becomes the main value, which is accompanied by a change in government priorities and public consciousness. Other respondents use a simpler definition, believing that the main characteristic of the information society is the use of information and communication technologies, primarily the Internet.
The presence/absence of computer skills and Internet use, as well as the presence/absence of the desire to master information and communication technologies for their use at work and at home can act as indicators of Russians’ readiness for life in the information society. Today, every third Russian (36%) has computer skills to one degree or another; another every third person expresses a desire to acquire them. 15% of Russians use the Internet, mobile phone 29% .
The current place of Russia in the global information society is assessed very differently. About a quarter of respondents believe that Russia is already included in the information society. Slightly more than half are convinced that Russia has just begun to move in this direction and large cities have joined the global information society. And about a quarter of respondents believe that Russia is not yet part of the global information society, since it has not created an open information system.
However, the need for Russia to join the global information society is recognized by all respondents. According to professionals in the field computer technology, this process will be accompanied by the country’s emergence as a leading position in the world. The information society will also bring unconditional benefits to the citizens of Russia: the openness of the information space will give a person unlimited opportunities to choose information, quickly and effectively solve problems, people will not be confined to one language or one culture, and will become more educated. .
Indeed, in the information society, each person gains the opportunity to independently navigate the information environment. “Information is power,” emphasizes D. Bell. “Access to information is a condition of freedom.” It is important to analyze the regulatory basis for guaranteeing this new degree of freedom - the right of citizens to information. Let us dwell on the most important aspects of the development of Russian legislation in this area, which should be oriented on a constitutional basis.
In Russian legislation, “information means information about persons, objects, facts, events, phenomena and processes, regardless of the form of their presentation.”
The Constitution of the Russian Federation officially recognizes the right of citizens to information and thereby introduces Russian legislation into the system of international norms that recognize this right as natural and political at the same time. The Basic Law enshrines federal information and communications under the jurisdiction of state authorities of the Russian Federation. This creates a constitutional basis for solving many problems of informatization, although it does not exhaust them.
The articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation reveal the content of this right. Clause 4 of Art. 29 states: “Everyone has the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any lawful means. The list of information constituting a state secret is determined by federal law.” This is an important provision that should be taken as the basis for legislative support and guarantees of the right to information not only of citizens, but also of their associations of various directions, and the state itself.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation singles out from the general information system that which is directly related to information about citizens and protects it as the most vulnerable array of information. This information is differentiated by the Constitution and presented in Art. 23 as a personal, family secret, in the privacy of correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph and other messages. Restriction of the right to this type of information secret “is permitted only on the basis of a court decision.”
Article 24 of the Constitution is entirely devoted to the regime of information about the private life of citizens. The collection, storage, use and dissemination of information about the private life of a person without his consent is not permitted (clause 1).
Simultaneously with securing the right of citizens to information, the Constitution obliges state authorities and local self-government bodies, their officials to provide everyone with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with documents and materials that directly affect their rights and freedoms, unless otherwise provided by law (clause 2 of article 24.) . Responsibility based on federal law for concealment by officials of facts and circumstances that pose a threat to the life and health of people, as well as the need to provide reliable information on the state of the environment (Articles 41, 42) affect an important range of responsibilities of the relevant government bodies for the possession and use of properly certain types of information.
A number of articles of the Constitution indirectly relate to the problems of the right to information and guarantees of its implementation. Issues of the legitimacy of restriction of freedom are also raised. The restriction concerns not only state property. Essential features are laid down in Art. 19. Reading it allows us to conclude that it is impossible to misuse information about the social, racial, national, religious, and linguistic affiliation of citizens. And in Art. 55 lays down the principle of limiting the right and freedom to information, taking into account the protection of the foundations of the constitutional system, morality, rights and legitimate interests of other persons, ensuring the defense of the country and the security of the state, which is much wider than the boundaries of information classified as state property.
Clause “i” of Art. 71 provides guidance in matters of formation and management of the information resource of the country as a whole. It says here that federal information and communications are under the jurisdiction of the Federation. At the same time, the Constitution does not contain any certainty regarding the information that arises and circulates in the system of joint jurisdiction of the Federation and the subjects of the Federation. In this case, it may be necessary to proceed from the division of property within the Federation, as well as between state and local self-government. Here a model of linking information resources related to certain property objects to the competence of the relevant entities will be implemented.
Thus, the Constitution of the Russian Federation directly or indirectly concerns such important topics in the problem of informatization as the right to information, its guarantees, restrictions and creation of conditions for information security, delimitation of areas of jurisdiction into the most important components of informatization: information and communication. This is not a complete list of questions necessary to solve the problem. But this is not enough for the further development of legislation on a constitutional basis in the area in question.
The issue of Russia’s entry into the global information society is not only a matter of legal regulation of the information field, the allocation of sufficient funds for information infrastructure and technical development, it is largely a matter of the readiness of Russians to live in new conditions, in a society in which scientific knowledge and information become the main factor in the development . Psychological readiness for new living conditions is no less important than computer skills.
Right there. p.9.
Ibid., p.9.
Ibid., p.9.
Ibid., p.13.
Ibid., p.16.
The information society is one of the theoretical models used to describe a qualitatively new stage of social development, which developed countries entered with the beginning of the information and computer revolution. The technological basis of society is not industrial, but information and telecommunication technologies (ITT).
The information society is a society in which: Information becomes the main economic resource, and the information sector comes out on top in terms of development rates, number of employees, share of capital investments, and share in GDP. ITT is becoming the main means of increasing production efficiency and strengthening competitiveness both in the domestic and global markets. There is a developed infrastructure that ensures the creation of sufficient information resources. This is primarily the education system and science.
There is a redistribution of resources in favor of science and education. In the United States, the so-called accumulated human capital is three times greater than the assets of all American corporations.
Intellectual property becomes the main form of ownership. In the competition for world championship, a new factor appears - the level of development of information infrastructure and industry.
Information is becoming a subject of mass consumption. The information society provides any individual with access to any source of information. This is guaranteed by law (military and state secrets are also determined by law) and technical capabilities.
New criteria for assessing the level of development of society are emerging - the number of computers, the number of Internet connections, the number of mobile and fixed telephones, etc.
The legal foundations of the information society are being developed. A unified integrated information system is being formed based on technological convergence (merging telecommunications, computer-electronic, audiovisual equipment).
Unified national Information Systems(in the USA - in the 80s, in Western Europe - in the 90s).
The information society is emerging as a global one and includes: the global “information economy”; a single global information space; global information infrastructure; the emerging global legislative and legal system.
In the information society, business activity flows into the information and communication environment. A virtual economy is being formed, a virtual financial system and the like, which raises the most important questions about the mechanisms of their regulation and connection with the real, “physical” economy.
In the 80-90s, philosophers and sociologists developed the theory of the information society. This work combined the efforts of such well-known philosophers in the West as Yoshita Masuda, Zbigniew Brzezinski (some time ago a former adviser to the President of the United States), and J. Nasbitt.
But the theory of the information society of the American philosopher Alvin Toffler (b. 1928) is best known, since his acclaimed books “Future shock” (Shock from colliding with the future, 1971), “Ecospasm” (1975), “The Third Wave” (1980) we were transferred.
Toffler, like many other Western philosophers, criticized the shortcomings of industrial society, noted its crisis and signs of transition to a new form of existence, the information society.
Toffler associates the transformation of society into an information society with the information revolution, which began in the second half of the twentieth century.
The information revolution, as Alvin Toffler notes, consists of two revolutions:
1) computer;
2) telecommunications.
The telecommunications revolution begins in the mid-70s and merges with the computer revolution. The computer revolution begins much earlier and proceeds in several stages.
The first big stage covers the years 1930-1970, which is called the “zero cycle”. It begins with the creation of the first computers by the American physicist J. Atanasov and the German engineer K. Zuse.
At this stage, in 1951, the first commercial computer UNIVAC-1 was created (it weighed 30 tons, contained 18 thousand lamps and performed 5 thousand operations per second). The second significant stage of the computer revolution begins with the creation of the first personal computers and their mass production.
The telecommunications revolution is associated with the creation
a) fiber-optic technologies;
b) satellite technologies.
The confluence of computer and telecommunications technologies has created many new products and services in the market. The information and telecommunications industry has today become a key sector of the economy of developed countries.
Developed countries prefer to import consumer goods, but export products of the information industry, and earn national wealth from their sale.
Information technology is expensive, much more expensive than consumer goods, which ensures that developed countries continue to have a high standard of living, significantly higher than that of developing countries.
In addition, leadership in information technology gives them the opportunity to continue to claim political leadership in the world.
For example, the United States is one of the recognized leaders in world politics and controls more than 40% of the information technology trade market.
The United States has conserved its fossil resources and imports more goods than it exports, but it exports more services (especially in the field of information technology) than it imports.
The leadership in the field of informatization of the United States is understandable: 41% of all computers in the world are located there; 40% of families there own personal computers, and 20% are modems, that is, they are Internet users.
Thanks to the merger of the computer and telecommunications revolutions, it became possible to create information networks of enormous scale, even global ones. Through these networks it is possible to transmit, find and process the necessary information much faster.
Less than a century ago, a person received about 15 thousand per week. Now we receive about ten thousand messages every hour. And among all this information flow it is very difficult to find the necessary message, but to do nothing - this is just one of the negative characteristics of the modern information society.
So, what is the information society? This is a society in which the bulk of workers are engaged in the production, storage or processing of information. At this stage of development, the information society has a number of distinctive characteristics:
The first to define what the information society is were scientists from Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, this term began to be used in the 60s of the last century. Almost simultaneously with them, the term “information society” began to be used by scientists from the United States. Authors such as M. Porat, I. Masuda, R. Karz and others made a great contribution to the development of this theory. This theory received support from those researchers who studied the formation of a technogenic or technological society, as well as from those who studied changes in society, which is influenced by the increased role of knowledge.
Already at the end of the twentieth century, the term “information society” firmly took its place in the vocabulary of infosphere specialists, politicians, scientists, economists and teachers. Most often it was associated with the development of information technology and other means that would help humanity make a new leap in evolutionary development.
Today there are two opinions regarding what the information society is:
It is also believed that the concept of the information society is nothing more than a variation of the theory of post-industrial society. Consequently, it can be considered as a sociological and futurological concept, where the main factor in social development is the production and use of scientific and technical information.
Considering how much information technology has infiltrated everyday life, these consequences are often called the information or computer revolution. Western teachings are paying more and more attention to this phenomenon, as evidenced by the vast number of relevant publications. However, it is worth noting that the concept of “information society” is placed in the place where the theory of post-industrial society was in the 70s.
Some scientists believe that post-industrial and information societies are completely different stages of development, so a clear line must be drawn between them. Despite the fact that the concept of the information society was called upon to replace the theory of a post-industrial society, its proponents are still developing important provisions of technocracy and futurology.
D. Bell, who formulated the theory of post-industrial society, considers the concept of the information society to be a new stage in the development of post-industrial society. Simply put, the scientist insists that the information society is the second level of post-industrial development, so these concepts should not be confused or replaced.
The writer believes that the information society must meet several criteria:
The development of the information society brings with it a number of changes. Thus, structural changes in the economy can be observed, especially when it comes to the distribution of labor. People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of information and technology. Many are beginning to realize that for a full-fledged existence it is necessary to eliminate their own computer illiteracy, since information technologies are present in almost all spheres of life. The government strongly supports the development of information and technology, but the malware And computer viruses.
Martin believes that in the information society, the quality of life directly depends on information and how a person uses it. In such a society, all spheres of human life are influenced by advances in knowledge and information.
Scientists believe that development in society makes it possible to manage large complexes of organizations, production systems and coordinate the work of thousands of people. New scientific directions related to the problems of organizational sets continue to develop.
And yet, the process of informatization of society has its drawbacks. Society is losing its stability. Small groups of people can have a direct influence on the information society agenda. For example, hackers can hack into banking systems and transfer large sums of money into their accounts. Or the media may cover the problems of terrorism, which have a destructive impact on the formation of public consciousness.
A. Rakitov emphasizes that the role of the information society in the near future will be to influence civilizational and cultural processes. Knowledge will become the most significant stake in the global competition for power.
The information society differs from the industrial society in the rapid growth of new jobs. The economic development segment is dominated by the information industry.
The dynamism of technological modernization poses two main questions for society:
During the transition of society to information people may face a significant problem. They will be divided into those who can use new knowledge and technologies, and those who do not have such skills. As a result, information technologies will remain in the hands of a small social group, which will lead to inevitable stratification of society and a struggle for power.
But despite this danger, new technologies can empower citizens by giving them instant access to the information they need. They will provide the opportunity to create, and not just consume, new knowledge and allow you to maintain the anonymity of personal messages. Although, on the other hand, the penetration of information technology into private life poses a threat to the inviolability of personal data. No matter how you look at the information society, the main trends in its development will always cause both a sea of delight and a storm of indignation. As, indeed, in any other area.
When it was recognized that society had moved to a new stage of development, appropriate steps were required. The authorities of many countries have begun to develop a plan for the development of the information society. For example, in Russia, researchers identify several stages of development:
The state is also interested in developing this process. In 2008, the Russian government adopted a strategy for the development of the information society, which is valid until 2020. The government has set itself the following tasks:
To solve such problems, the state apparatus is developing special measures for the development of a new society. Determine benchmark indicators of dynamics and improve policies in the field of use of information technologies. Create favorable conditions for the development of science, technology and equal access of citizens to information.
So, what is the information society? This is a theoretical model that is used to describe a new stage of social development that began with the beginning of the information and computer revolution. The technological basis in this society is not industrial, but information and telecommunication technologies.
This is a society where information is the main economic resource, and due to the pace of development, this sector comes out on top in terms of number of employees, share of GDP and capital investment. A developed infrastructure can be traced that ensures the creation of information resources. This primarily includes education and science. In such a society, intellectual property is the main form of property.
Information is turning into a product of mass consumption. Everyone living in society has access to any type of information; this is guaranteed not only by law, but also by technical capabilities. In addition, new criteria for assessing the level of development of society are emerging. For example, an important criterion is the number of computers, Internet connections, mobile and home phones. By merging telecommunications, computer-electronic and audiovisual technology, a single integrated information system is created in society.
Today, the information society can be regarded as a kind of global phenomenon, which includes: the global information economy, space, infrastructure and legal system. Here, business activity becomes an information and communication environment, the virtual economy and financial system are spreading more and more widely. The information society gives many opportunities, but it did not arise out of nowhere - it is the result of centuries of activity of all mankind.
1. Concept, prerequisites for the emergence and theories of the information society
2. Features of the information society and its contradictions.
Since the mid-60s, Western sociologists and social philosophers (D. Bell, D. Riesman, O. Toffler, A. Touraine, etc.) have been actively discussing the issue of the entry of the most developed countries into a qualitatively different stage of social development, characterized by them as a “post-industrial” or “information” society. A number of factors contributed to these conversations.
Firstly, everyone then was impressed by the rapid development of science and technology, as mentioned above.
Secondly, in the mid-70s there was a global energy crisis. Oil-producing countries did not want to sell the contents of their subsoil to the West for next to nothing and raised prices. As a result, Western industry is faced with the urgent need to implement energy-efficient solutions in production and construction, as well as to increase product profitability. Having overcome this crisis, Western countries have entered a new technological stage.
Thirdly, just in the early 70s, the old financial system (it was called Bretton Woods) collapsed. As a result of the introduction of floating exchange rates, the dollar began to prevail in all international payments and began to play the role of world money. Thus, the West received almost limitless opportunities for expansion. And for any expansion that combines economic and political aspects, appropriate ideological support is needed.
Well, fourthly, by this time the USSR had so lost its development momentum that no opposition was expected on its part.
Information society is a term used to designate the current state of industrialized countries, associated with the new role of information in all aspects of their life, a qualitatively new level (scope) of production, processing and dissemination of information.
Information society is a society in which the majority of workers are engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of information, especially its highest form - knowledge
There are two approaches that interpret the historical place of the information society differently. The first approach, expressed by Jürgen Habermas, E. Giddens, considers the information society as a phase of industrial society.
The second approach, voiced by D. Bell and Alvin Toffler, fixes the information society as a completely new stage following the industrial society (the second wave, according to Toffler).
Prerequisites for the formation of the information society:
Features of the information society:
Intellectual and creative labor displaces the labor of the individual directly involved in the production process;
Development of the service sector;
The main thing becomes work aimed at receiving, processing, storing, transforming and using information.
Creativity takes on primary importance in motivating work activity;
Creation of new needs and values, new economic sectors and market segments.
Changes in employment;
The problem of the information crisis has been solved, i.e. the contradiction between the information avalanche and information hunger is resolved;
The priority of information is ensured compared to other resources;
The main form of development will be the information economy;
The basis of society will be the automated generation, storage, processing and use of knowledge with the help of the latest information technology and technologies;
Information technology will become global in nature, covering all areas of human social activity;
The information unity of the entire human civilization is being formed;
With the help of computer science, every person has free access to the information resources of the entire civilization;
Humanistic principles of social management and environmental impact have been implemented.
In addition to the positive aspects, dangerous trends are also predicted:
Theories of the information society:
According to Professor W. Martin, the information society is understood as a “developed post-industrial society” that arose primarily in the West. In his opinion, it is no coincidence that the information society is establishing itself primarily in those countries - Japan, the USA and Western Europe - in which a post-industrial society was formed in the 60s and 70s.
William Martin made an attempt to identify and formulate the main characteristics of the information society according to the following criteria.
At the same time, Martin especially emphasizes the idea that communication is “a key element of the information society.”
D. Bell: Defines the information society through the changes taking place in real society
The revolution in the organization and processing of information and knowledge, in which the computer plays a central role, is unfolding simultaneously with the emergence of a post-industrial society.
Three aspects of post-industrial society are particularly important for understanding the telecommunications revolution:
1) transition from an industrial to a service society;
2) the critical importance of codified theoretical knowledge for the implementation of technological innovation;
3) transformation of the new “intelligent technology” into a key tool for system analysis and decision-making theory.”
Alvin Toffler “The Third Wave” is an American sociologist and futurologist, he studied in detail the response of society to this phenomenon and the changes occurring in society
According to Toffler, the development of science and technology occurs in spurts, or more precisely, in waves. Since the mid-50s, industrial production began to acquire new features. In many areas of technology, a variety of types of equipment, product samples, and types of services are increasingly being discovered. The specialization of labor is becoming increasingly fragmented. Organizational forms of management are expanding. The volume of publications is increasing. According to the scientist, all this led to extreme fragmentation of economic indicators, which led to the emergence of computer science.
Studying the information age worker, Toffler notes that he is more independent, more resourceful, that he is no longer an appendage of a machine. However, unemployment is also inherent in the information age, and the problem of unemployment becomes not so much a quantitative problem as a qualitative one. It's no longer just a matter of how many jobs there are, but what types of jobs are, where, when, and who can fill them. Today's economy is extremely dynamic, industries that are experiencing depression coexist next to prosperous ones, and this makes it difficult to solve the problem of unemployment. And unemployment itself is now more diverse in its origin.
His main works advocate the thesis that humanity is moving to a new technological revolution, that is, the first wave (agrarian civilization) and the second (industrial civilization) are being replaced by a new one, leading to the creation of a super-industrial civilization.
The “third wave” brings with it a truly new way of life based on diversified, renewable energy sources; on production methods that render most factory assembly lines obsolete; on some new (“non-nuclear”) family; at a new institute that could be called an “electronic cottage”; on the radically transformed schools and corporations of the future. The emerging civilization brings with it a new code of conduct and takes us beyond the concentration of energy, money and power.”
T. Stoneier INFORMATION WEALTH: PROFILE OF POST-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY
There are three main ways in which a country can increase its national wealth: 1) continuous accumulation of capital, 2) military conquests and territorial increments, 3) the use of new technology that converts “non-resources” into resources. Due to the high level of technology development in the post-industrial economy, the conversion of non-resources into resources has become the main principle of creating new wealth. information exchange leads to cooperation. Information is therefore a resource that can be shared without regret.
A. Touraine: French sociologist
“...the concept of a post-industrial society... - here investments are made at a different level than in an industrial society, that is, in the production of means of production. The organization of labor affects only the relations of workers among themselves, and therefore the level at which production operates. Post-industrial society operates more globally at the management level, that is, in the production mechanism as a whole. This action takes two main forms. Firstly, it is innovation, that is, the ability to produce new products, in particular as a result of investments in science and technology; secondly, management itself, that is, the ability to use complex information and communication systems.
It is important to recognize that post-industrial society is one in which all elements economic system are affected by the actions of society on itself. These actions do not always take the form of conscious will embodied in an individual or even a group of people. This is why such a society should be called a programmable society, a designation that clearly indicates its ability to create models for managing production, organization, distribution and consumption; Therefore, this kind of society appears at the operational level not as a result of natural laws or specific cultural characteristics, but rather as the result of production, thanks to the action of society on itself, its own systems social action."
