Page 22 RAIN September/October 1985 The EIES conference is called “U.S.-Soviet Link." At the moment, the U.S. team consists of EIES Director Murray Turoff, EIES Evaluator Starr Roxanne Hiltz, Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz, EIES Senior Engineer Tom Moulton, Telecommunications specialist Michael Kleeman, and myself. The Soviet participants include Professor Smirnov, Dr. Vladimir Serdiuk, Dr. Vladimir Teremetsky, and Boris Semyanov—all from the Institute for Automated Systems. The "electronic conference" is currently exploring the problem of multilingual computer communications, and a host of technical and policy issues to support full-fledged scientific exchange. Actual use of this system by scientists wishing to communicate with one another is anticipated within two to three months. I have asked Smirnov about expanding the conference to other countries such as China, India, Japan, Great Britain—and to business and educational applications. He has given a green light. How can this be happening in the Soviet Union? Whatever else can be said of these developments, the Information Age is pressing itself into Soviet reality, in spite of long-standing fears of computers and easy access to information. Mr. Gorbachev has recently ordered 60,000 small computers for schools, and has stated that the need for computer literacy is now as great as literacy was at the time of the 1917 Revolution. A new world is gradually unfolding. This technology contains the potential for proliferation of small-scale printing presses, decentralized information and control, and increasing exposure to information and values from the West. While I am not expecting miracles in the near future, there is a fundamental change occuring. The information/communication age is so powerful in its global reach and momentum that the Soviet Union is beginning to learn the basic steps of The Information Age is pressing itself into Soviet reality, despite longstanding fears of computers and easy access to information. this new dance. I have no illusions about the current difficulties in Soviet society—but neither do I underestimate their survival instincts in the face of emerging planetary imperatives. Communication, however threatening, is more attractive than the prospect of nuclear obliteration. And what of the Far Right in this country? How will they react to this electronic channel of communication? Obvious concerns about giving away high technology secrets, and creating a new generation of hackers from Moscow will likely top their agenda. I've asked myself how to best deal with these reactions when they come. These are my thoughts: To fear communication directly with the Russians is to abandon the very essence of democracy—the exercise of free speech. If democracy is for real, we must put it to the test—through expanding channels of interactive communication with increasing numbers of Soviets. What better way to introduce Soviets to the benefits of freer attitudes toward information than to engage their citizens in vigorous cooperation in science, education, and trade? We have absolutely nothing to lose. It would be silly to blow up the planet for a cause we didn't really believe in! □ □ Detail from PEACE TREK poster
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