Introduction

In this final chapter we give an overview of some ideas about the future of the discipline and profession of information science. This has been a source of debate almost since the beginnings of the discipline, and of its sibling, library science. Much of the debate has been negative, with a narrative around disciplines and professions permanently in crisis. And, indeed, if one worries about the structure of academic departments and the names of professional associations one might find cause for concern. If one takes a longer view and thinks, with Lord Dunsany, about the power of recorded information and the continuing need for disciplines and professions to deal with it, the concerns come into better focus.

Predicting and prophesying

Karl Popper distinguished between prediction, when sufficient knowledge is available to make reasonable conclusions about future events, and prophecy, when statements are made about the future without the necessary knowledge being available for them to be rational or realistic. We have seen examples of both of these relating to information science, but, because of the great and rapid changes in the information environment, most fall under the heading of prophesy, and much of it bad prophesy. David Deutsch (2011) builds on Popper's view to argue that the continuous development of knowledge of all kinds reduces all speculation about the future to prophesy, and almost inevitably in error.

Arthur C. Clarke, writer of popular science books and science fiction novels and originator of the concept of the communications satellite, identified two general problems in predicting the future.