A Gift from the Gods? Components of Information Technological Fatalism, Determinism in Several Cultures

Abstract

Introduction When you think of information systems, do you think of them as “natural”, “god-given” or the work of the devil? Do you think of them as a source of good things for society and the world or as a source of trouble? Do you think that information systems’ growth and seeming pervasiveness is spurred by our inherent human talents or by specific economic and social forces? For those of us teaching and doing research in information systems/technology these are salient questions not merely because students come to us from a variety of backgrounds and arrive with fresh prejudices at the start of each academic term. In fact, we play a strong role in creating and maintaining these beliefs through our teaching and research. No doubt an overwhelming majority of us see information technology as a natural extension of human creativity, a (n eventual) source of good things for society, heavily spiced with a range of problems, and at least in the case of E-commerce a potent social and economic force. It’s important that we understand in a critical sense where our beliefs are coming from so that we don’t run the risk of alienating many in our primary constituencies (students and colleagues). It’s no joke that many in business believe this primary tenet, a corollary of Systemantics (Gall, 1986): “If you see someone coming at you with the obvious intention of doing good, run away as quickly as possible”. This paper explores a complex of beliefs held about the causal relationships among information technology and aspects of society. It begins with an analysis of these relationships as special cases of those with technology in general. It then details research performed in Thailand and South Africa and plans to extend the research to other countries such as the USA among undergraduate business students. The implications that the findings would have for instruction, cross-cultural application of information technology and marketing are then discussed. The paper ends with additional research questions to be explored.