evel of society (p. 101). He gives as an example the fact that robots are becoming increasingly attractive to manufacturers as a cost-cutting alternative to human labor on the automobile assembly line (p. 131). However, he estimates each robot replaces four jobs in the economy and instant access to information means the control and coordination of activity can be exercised quickly and at lower levels of command (p. 102).
The combined effect of these changes is that information can now be processed horizontally rather than vertically, thus collapsing the traditional corporate pyramid in favor of networks operating along a common plane. By eliminating the slow climb up and down the old-fashioned decision-making hierarchy, information can be now processed at a speed commensurate with the capabilities of the new computer equipment (p. 102). However, this compression of time requires quicker responses and faster decision making to remain competitive. What this all combines to effect is, Rifkin argues, the extinction of traditional control and coordinat
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