*EPF415 12/11/2003
Top U.S. Scientist Says Information Technology Enhances Productivity
(White House science advisor addresses Information Society Summit) (740)

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer

Geneva -- Addressing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) December 11, the top scientific advisor in the Bush administration emphasized the contribution that information technologies have made to U.S. productivity and their potential to do so for all nations.

"Information and communication technology (ICT) is a key to the future prosperity of all nations," said John H. Marburger, science advisor to the president and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He delivered a keynote speech to the meeting where delegates from 176 nations and hundreds of other agencies and non-governmental organizations have convened to examine how to allow all the world's people to enjoy the benefits that are created by advanced information and communication technologies.

"An estimated 40 percent of U.S. productivity growth between 1995 and 2002 has been attributed to information technology," Marburger said. "Our ability to seize the opportunities afforded by information and communication technology depends upon a philosophy of shared optimism about the power of individual creativity and entrepreneurship as the ultimate source of economic strength."

Speaking in a Washington File interview on the sidelines of the summit, Marburger elaborated on this message, emphasizing that the sheer volume of information on the Internet provides resources for individuals to solve problems in new ways.

"The knowledge of the world is becoming accessible to everyone," he said. "And those countries that separate themselves from it simply will not be able to compete. They're denying their people the opportunity to be aware of ... things that make life rich."

The nations assembled in Geneva for WSIS are set to adopt a declaration of principles that emphasizes freedom of the media and freedom of access to knowledge as important pillars in the Information Society. Ensuring those freedoms has been a key priority for U.S. negotiators involved in crafting that document.

Nations with a history of governmental control over the media may come to that agreement hesitantly, Marburger said, but he added that widely available information should not be viewed as a threat or an inevitable source of discord. Rather, enhanced capabilities for social communication will strengthen cultures, he said.

"The Internet -- far from destroying culture -- actually reinforces it, because it gives voice to everyone in a society. ... Giving people a voice usually has the effect of relaxing tensions," Marburger said.

The OSTP director brings a broad range of experience to his observations about the Internet and advances in communications technologies. Prior to accepting a presidential appointment, he served in two fields that have undergone dramatic change as a result of advances in information technology -- science and education. Marburger worked as a professor of physics and later went on to serve as director of the prominent research center, the Brookhaven National Laboratory. He is also a former president of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Marburger reflected on how information technologies have changed scientific research. "It has enhanced our ability to tap into more people, work more efficiently with people, arrive at the results faster and push the process of research and the applications of research much, much more rapidly," Marburger said. These capabilities have also allowed science to engage in much more international collaboration than was possible in the past, he added.

These capabilities are not reserved for scientists alone, Marburger said. Even schoolchildren today can engage in international collaborative educational projects by virtue of advanced information technologies.

"I believe this is a major contributor to mutual understanding among different cultures," he said.

During his experience as the administrator of a large university, Marburger said, he also saw how information technology advances can change the operations of large institutions, creating greater efficiencies, improving communications and enhancing creativity.

In any large institution -- government, corporate or academic -- administrative functions such as payroll and benefits have changed significantly with advanced computer programs capable of handling more data and processing it in a variety of specialized ways. Marburger said these developments have had far-reaching effects.

"People were concerned when computers were being introduced that they would dehumanize the organization, but I believe the reverse is true," Marburger said. "Having the ability to deal with all the individual differences means that the institution can be more human and more responsive to individual needs."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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