Heartless computing
Sir: Myles Harris's article on computer 'artificial intelligence' (14 May) is more timely than you may have wished or anticipated.
HEARTLESS, I regret to say, does not seem to be '20 years from now' away. I quote from New Scientist of 26 May: 'The Government announced last week that Britain will have a huge computer network owned and operated by the private sector, but carrying personal information on almost the entire population.' The news item ends: 'A testing of the service will take place by the end of the year, and a full network will be operating by 1989, Brooke said.'
This announcement was apparently made by the Paymaster General, Peter Brooke, in a written parliamentary answer. To my knowledge, there has been no comment or reaction in a press exclusively preoccupied, it seems, with the Prime Minister's moral credo.
Constantinos Laskaridis 53 Hayes Hill, Bromley, Kent
Previous page
