The Microcomputer Revolution? Technical Possibilities and Social Choices

The technology on which microcomputers and allied developments are based is rapidly progressing, but the extent and directions in which development continues will be determined largely by social, not autonomously technical, factors. This technology can, within the next decade or two, advance to the point where an enormous range of new applications will be economically practicable. A wide variety of microcomputer applications are already underway in computation, automation, data management, and communication. This article surveys some of the more important of these, and suggests the vast social implications which they have. The applications themselves and their effects are, it is argued, at least partially subject to social control. The article suggests some of the blocks on further innovation, and some of the social choices to be faced.