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CPSR Brochure
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1994-06-28
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========================================================================
COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
is a public-interest alliance of computer scientists and others
interested in the impact of computer technology on society. We work
to influence decisions regarding the development and use of computers
because those decisions have far-reaching consequences and reflect
basic values and priorities.
As technical experts, CPSR members provide the public and policymakers
with realistic assessments of the power, promise, and limitations of
computer technology. As concerned citizens, we direct public attention
to critical choices concerning the applications of computing and how
those choices affect society.
Members of CPSR believe that computer technology should make life more
enjoyable, productive, and secure. We are working for a world in which
science and technology are used not to produce weapons of war, but to
foster a safe and just society. These concerns impel us to many forms
of action:
o We encourage public discussion of and public responsibility for
decisions involving the use of computers in systems critical to
society.
o We work to dispel popular myths about the infallibility of
technological systems.
o We challenge the assumption that technology alone can solve
political and social problems.
o We encourage critical examination of social and technical issues
within the computer profession, nationally and internationally.
o We encourage the use of computer technology to improve the quality
of life.
CPSR HISTORY
------------
Since its beginnings as a small discussion group formed over a Palo
Alto computer mail network in 1981, CPSR has grown into a national
organization with 21 chapters throughout the United States. We are also
affiliated with similar groups in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great
Britain, Germany, Finland, and Italy. Membership is open to all.
CPSR PROJECTS
-------------
Risk and Reliability:
Overreliance on computing technology can lead to unacceptable risks.
This project analyzes application areas in which those risks seem
particularly serious:
o SDI software problems
o dangers of autonomous weapons
o the inadequacy of simulation as a means for testing complex systems
o the potential for software failure in life-critical systems
Civil Liberties and Privacy:
The growing use of computers for record-keeping has brought with it the
danger that the vast amount of information maintained about individuals
threatens our privacy. Centered in our Washington D.C. office, the
Civil Liberties and Privacy Project is concerned with such topics as:
o the FBI National Crime Information Center
o the growing use of databases of personal information by both
government and private industry
o the right of public access to government information
o extension of First Amendment rights to electronic communication
o establishing legal protections for privacy of computerized
information
The CPSR Workplace Project:
By the mid-1990s, most U.S. workers will use a computer on the job.
The increasing use of computers in the workplace raises important
social issues, and CPSR believes that it is important for computer
professionals to be involved in this debate. CPSR's Computers in the
Workplace Project has concentrated on the following topics:
o design methodologies for workplace software
o electronic monitoring of workers on the job
o health problems associated with computer use
The 21st Century Project:
Since the Second World War, most U.S. research in science and technology
has been funded by the military and directed toward military needs.
With the end of the Cold War and the changes that have swept Eastern
Europe and the Soviet Union, it is time to refocus our scientific and
technological research toward the problems that society faces as we
enter the next century.
The 21st Century Project, led by CPSR from our Cambridge office, is a
coalition of professional organizations working to redirect national
science and technology priorities, so that they more closely match
social needs.
Grassroots Projects:
CPSR's chapter-based projects and national interest groups span a wide
range of issues, including:
o computers in education
o computers and the environment
o viruses and threats to computer security
o computerized vote-counting systems
o status of women in computer science
o implications of speculative technologies such as nanotechnology
and virtual reality
HIGHLIGHTS
----------
In the ten years since CPSR's creation, CPSR has been effective in
alerting the public and key decision-makers in the U.S. and abroad
about the impact of computers on society:
o CPSR published the first papers and held the first public debates
on the computing aspects of the Strategic Defense Initiative, or
"Star Wars."
o CPSR members testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on the
feasibility of SDI.
o CPSR/Boston produced an award-winning slide show and videotape
called "Reliability and Risk: Computers and Nuclear War."
o CPSR members produced the first book for general audiences on the
ways in which computers revolutionize modern weapons systems,
*Computers in Battle: Will they Work?*
o At the request of a House subcommittee, CPSR studied the FBI's
proposed National Crime Information Center upgrade (NCIC 2000).
CPSR's report was widely credited for the FBI's subsequent decision
to drop a proposal to track individuals who had not been charged
with any crime.
o CPSR co-produced a "Special Report on Computers and Elections"
for the 1988 Presidential Campaign, highlighting the potential
for errors in electronic vote-counting systems.
o CPSR filed lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act to force
the FBI and Secret Service to reveal whether they monitor computer
bulletin boards and electronic mail.
o CPSR/Portland hosted a conference on Computers and the Environment.
o The CPSR Workplace Project organized PDC'90--the first U.S.
conference on participatory design, in which users work together
with software designers to ensure that systems meet workers' needs.
o CPSR helped lead a successful grassroots campaign to convince the
Lotus Development Corporation not to release their proposed
Marketplace: Households product, which would have included data
on 120 million Americans.
o CPSR/Berkeley organized a media campaign to register our concern
over the deadly role of computing technology in the Persian Gulf
War.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
-------------------
o The CPSR Newsletter--a highly regarded magazine with reviews of
CPSR's activites and analyses of issues of concern to CPSR members.
o Invitations and discounts to CPSR events, including the annual
meeting, our biannual conference on Directions and Implications
of Advanced Computing, and various special events.
o Notice of new CPSR educational materials, including videotapes,
research papers, and books.
o Automatic membership in a local CPSR chapter (if available) and
notices of chapter meetings and activities.
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES
---------------------
The attached reply form lists several categories of membership. The $40
"basic" membership covers only the costs of sending you the newsletter
and the basic administrative services we provide. If you want to help
support CPSR's program work, please consider joining at the $75
"regular" rate, or at whatever higher level you can afford. CPSR's
accomplishments during our first ten years were possible because we had
strong membership support. Such support will be continue to be critical
as we try to make our second decade even more successful.
PRIVACY NOTICE
--------------
The CPSR membership database is never sold, rented, lent, exchanged, or
used for anything other than official CPSR activity. CPSR may elect
to send members mailings with information from other groups, but the
mailings will always originate with CPSR.
ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION
--------------------------
CPSR National Office
P.O. Box 717
Palo Alto, CA 94302
415-322-3778, 415-322-3798 (FAX)
E-mail: cpsr@csli.stanford.edu
CPSR Cambridge Office
P.O. Box 962
Cambridge, MA 02142
617-497-7440
chapman@saffron.lcs.mit.edu
CPSR Washington Office
666 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Suite 303
Washington, DC 20003
202-544-9240, 202-547-5482 (FAX)
rotenberg@washofc.cpsr.org
Senior Staff
Gary Chapman Cambridge Director
Marc Rotenberg Washington Director
Barbara Thomas Director of Development
National Advisory Board
Herbert L. Abrams Richard Karp Anthony Ralston
John Backus Barbara Liskov John Shattuck
Paul Brest James Martin Herbert Simon
David Burnham Elliot Maxwell Robert E. Tarjan
Dorothy Denning Eli Noam Robert W. Taylor
Douglas Engelbart Karen Nussbaum Lawrence Tesler
Admiral Noel Gayler Severo M. Ornstein Sherry Turkle
Adele Goldberg
Board of Directors
Eric Roberts President
Jeff Johnson Chair
Steve Adams Secretary
Rodney Hoffman Treasurer
Ronni Rosenberg Director-at-Large
Dan Williams Director-at-Large
Paul Hyland Middle Atlantic Director
Lesley Kalmin Western Director
Patti Lowe Midwestern Director
Ivan Milman Southern Director
Douglas Schuler Northwestern Director
Coralee Whitcomb New England Director
Terry Winograd Special Director
============================ clip and mail ===========================
CPSR MEMBERSHIP FORM
Name ____________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _____________________________________________________
Home phone _____________________ Work phone ______________________
Company ____________________________________________________________
Type of work _______________________________________________________
E-mail address _____________________________________________________
CPSR Chapter
__ Acadiana __ Austin __ Berkeley
__ Boston __ Chicago __ Denver/Boulder
__ Los Angeles __ Madison __ Maine
__ Milwaukee __ Minnesota __ New Haven
__ New York __ Palo Alto __ Philadelphia
__ Pittsburgh __ Portland __ San Diego
__ Santa Cruz __ Seattle __ Washington, DC
__ No chapter in my area
CPSR Membership Categories
__ $ 20 Student/low income member
__ $ 40 Basic member
__ $ 50 Library/institutional subscriber
__ $ 75 REGULAR MEMBER
__ $ 150 Supporting member
__ $ 500 Sponsoring member
__ $1000 Lifetime member
Additional tax-deductible contribution to support CPSR projects:
__ $50 __ $75 __ $100 __ $250
__ $500 __ $1000 __ Other
Please add $10 for memberships outside the U.S.
Total Enclosed: $ ________
Make check out to CPSR and mail to:
CPSR
P.O. Box 717
Palo Alto, CA 94302-0717
You can also pay your CPSR dues using your Visa, Mastercard, or
automatic bank transfer. For details, call (415) 322-3778 or send
E-mail to: cpsr@csli.stanford.edu
========================================================================