Information and Internet change society: Emerging constitution of the social systems

Abstract

Using adjectives "Information" or "Knowledge" in front of the word society seems to have become popular recently. However, there is an ambiguity with regards to the concepts of information and knowledge and there are problems involved in re-defining them. Information and communication technologies actually handle only data (or binary-coded symbols), while the meaning of information is created by the recipient according to his own individual knowledge and relative context. The growing volume of shared/mediated "conceptual" information (data) brings us another - often underestimated - problem related to the possibility of different interpretations and thus a danger of fluctuation and turbulence in society. On the other hand, some information systems and/or organizations designed to work with information and knowledge (educational systems or press agencies) unify the perception of common problems and their solutions. The Internet brings us the promising possibility of heterogeneity - but inherently includes the problem of the credibility and validity of shared information.