A BBC Horizon (1978) episode at https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f quite

A BBC Horizon (1978) episode at https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/9d86b9d9acd846addced1578b0a1167f quite clearly poses many of the questions currently in vogue regarding automation, its limits and its social impact. Amazing in some ways how little has changed. (Although perhaps television is far less lucid and the majority of people are no longer capable of sustained, rational debate?) Real time trading systems don't exist yet in American banks. It takes man-years of work to prepare even simple software programs. Software is now a major cost in computers, often as much as 40% of any new application. Some people believe that we must change from hardware to software: that we should stake our future on the chips - not by making them, but by programming them - and that we should use our software skills to develop high technology industries around them. What will happen then to the men in today's jobs? Can we all live on the wealth of automatic factories and the earnings of an elite band of 60,000 software engineers? It's time to think about the future... (49:50s) Undoubtedly, I think we're already in to a second industrial revolution. (51:30s) Silicon Valley, I am told, is filled with British experts. (1:06:10s) If, in fact, the silicon chip enables you to be more efficient, and proficient, then it equally assumes you have higher profits. (1:09:30s) In the long run we could build a better society [...] it depends on how wealth and income is shared. In the short run there is going to be tremendous social upheaval and I think no one would disagree with that. (1:11:10s) Another one broadcast exactly 40 years ago today ... https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9 https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/44f192e61ad3dbcbccd2311a15be4fd9