MIS technology: a view of the future

  • Authors:
  • Charles H. Kriebel

  • Affiliations:
  • Carnegie-Mellon Universiy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaina

  • Venue:
  • AFIPS '72 (Spring) Proceedings of the May 16-18, 1972, spring joint computer conference
  • Year:
  • 1971

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Abstract

Industry tabulations for 1970 indicated there were some 85,000 computer installations in the world, valued in excess of $40 billion. By 1975 these figures are expected to double; in ten years they may be redoubled. The continuing exponential growth in raw computing power prompted Art Buchwald recently to editoralize on "The Great Data Famine" of the 1970's. According to Buchwald's expert source by January 12, 1976" ... every last bit of data in the world will have been fed into a machine and an information famine will follow." To cope with this impending disaster, a crash program is urged in which (1) "no computer can be plugged in more than three hours a day"; (2) the government will spend $50 billion to set up data manufacturing plants and their output will be mixed with soy bean production; and finally (3) a birth control program will be advocated for all computers---provided, "the Vatican's computer gives us its blessing."