Societal Implications of Modern Information Technology

New technologies have historically been powerful agents that bring about thorough changes in the structure of society and in the living conditions of mankind. This is especially true in the case of information technologies, in general, and informatics, in particular. While many of these impacts will be beneficial to society, informatics might also bring threats to our life in the future. This article first presents a scenario for technological and social change. it then reviews the possible consequences on employment, on the productive structure and on education and discusses the impact on home-life and on the individual. Lastly, the author concludes by stressing the importance of societal involvement in the development of Informatics for the benefit of society.