Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!rutgers!bellcore-2!bellcore!dduck!duncan
From: duncan@dduck.ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Paperless office
Message-ID: <27479@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Date: 3 Oct 90 13:34:22 GMT
References: <9010031156.AA26927@encore.encore.com>
Sender: news@bellcore.bellcore.com
Reply-To: duncan@ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Organization: Computer Technology Transfer Division
Lines: 41

In article <9010031156.AA26927@encore.encore.com> DAVISM@ATSUVAX1.BITNET ("Michael N. Davis") writes:
>
>There was an interesting article in our local paper, recently, about the
>failures so far to bring about that long promised paperless office.  I
>just glanced at the article, but one statement that stood out was
>that paper is a very inexpensive portable display device.  Until other
>technology can match its price and ease of use, paper will never be
>replaced.

I also think that inexpensive character recognition/scanning would have a great
effect -- but I'm not sure which way, i.e., more or less paper.  Scanners make
it easier to get things on paper into electronic form, of course, but would
more available (and cheaper) technology of this kind incline people to be just
as willing to use paper knowing that they could get it into electromnic form
when they needed it that way?

>                            Anything that must be signed must be on
>paper.  Electronic copies of contracts, etc, are not binding because
>it is so easy to copy a signature onto another document electronically.
>How will this problem ever be resolved?

Current questions about computer-enhanced imaging (still and video) are also an
issue for this reason.  I'm not sure what the legal stance is about the use of
photos, etc. anymore as evidence.  Presumably the negative could be manufactur-
ed to match what the manipulated picture shows, too.

>Will a paperless office ever exist?

Doesn't look like it since folks've been saying this almost as long as compu-
ters for business purposes have existed.

I forget who said it many years ago, but their claim was that computers came
along just in time to save bureaucracy from itself, i.e., computers allowed
old bureaucractic methods to remain valid otherwise the paperwork would have
overwhelmed everyone.  So the computer has led, not to a paperLESS office,
but, perhaps, a LESS paperFULL one.

Speaking only for myself, of course, I am...
Scott P. Duncan (duncan@ctt.bellcore.com OR ...!bellcore!ctt!duncan)
                (Bellcore, 444 Hoes Lane  RRC 1H-210, Piscataway, NJ  08854)
                (908-699-3910 (w)   609-737-2945 (h))