Il n'y a pas, je crois, de société de l'information. Internet, la télévision, la radio ne sont pas des moyens d'information, ce sont des moyens de communication. L'information participe d'une certaine forme de savoir sur le monde, et les moyens de communication de masse ne la transmettent pratiquement pas. Ils l'évoquent dans le meilleur des cas (ceux des journalistes de terrain par exemple), et la déforment voire la truquent dans tous les autres. Et (pour autant qu'il le veuille!) le pouvoir politique n'est hélas plus aujourd'hui assez "le" pouvoir pour pouvoir faire respecter l'information et la liberté. L'information, comme toute forme de savoir, est le résultat d'une implication personnelle et d'un effort de celui qui cherche à s'informer. C'était vrai au Moyen-Âge, c'est encore vrai aujourd'hui. La seule différence, c'est qu'aujourd'hui il y a davantage de leurres en travers du chemin de celui qui cherche. TIM McKENNA [EN, FR] [EN] Tim McKenna (Geneva) #Thinks and writes about the complexity of truth in a world of flux *Interview of October 17, 2000 = What exactly do you do professionally? I am a mathematics teacher and currently I am taking time off to earn a master's degree in telecommunications management. = What exactly do you do on the Internet? I use the Internet primarily for research. = How do you see the future? I hope to see the Internet become more of a tool for accessing news and media that is not controlled by large corporate accounts. = What do you think of the debate about copyright on the Web? Copyright is a difficult issue. The owner of the intellectual property thinks that she owns what she has created. I believe that the consumer purchases the piece of plastic (in the case of a CD) or the bounded pages (in the case of book). The business community has not found a new way to add value to intellectual property. Consumers don't think very abstractly. When they download songs for example they are simply listening to them, they are not possessing them. The music and publishing industry need to find ways to give consumers tactile vehicles for selling the intellectual property. = How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web? When software gets good enough for people to chat or talk on the Web in real time in different languages, then we will see whole a new world appear before us. Scientists, political activists, businesses and many more groups will be able to communicate immediately without having to go through mediators or translators. = How much do you still work with paper? Will there still be a place for paper in the future? Paper still plays a vital role in my life. Reading is a matter of cultural pride for me. My background is Irish (Tim is a US citizen). To paraphrase Thomas Cahil, spirituality has always been closely connected with literacy in Ireland. I would miss reading and reading from a screen is too burdensome to the eyes. = What do you think about e-books?