The development and widespread use of computer technology and the internet have transformed how we communicate, how business is conducted, how information is dispersed, and how society is organized. Prior to approximately 1980, in-depth information about any one subject matter was attained through laborious research involving countless visits to libraries and via repeated interviews with persons of known reputation and reputable expertise. Now, a great deal of information is available at the click of a mouse button, all attainable from within the confines of ones own home or from the use of a computer in an office. Previous laborintensive support jobs, such as loading and unpacking of trucks, luggage handling at airports, and food manufacturing, once performed by a large middle-class workforce, are now performed routinely by robots which are monitored by computer-controlled systems.