2006/2

In the past, communication by signs and symbols converged with materials when language was first expressed in writing. Symbolic technologies converged with electronic technologies to launch the information society. Computing and communication technologies converged on the basis of digital information. And now, digital technologies are converging with the organic world, including the human body. As one writer in this issue points out, “Whatever position one may have in relation to converging technologies, there can be little doubt that humankind is in the process of developing new tools that have far-reaching implications for its future.” New technologies have enormous potential, but they also have the capacity to change us as human beings. For that reason alone, communicators and society must engage in a wide-ranging debate about the broad social and ethical issues raised by the convergence of digital technologies with other technologies.