Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
out of this paradox by giving military planners the means to make
simulations of possible scenarios, which could then stand in for
actual situations.
Cybernetics was of great interest to the American military not
just in terms of modelling scenarios, but also in looking at ways of
automating warfare. In particular they were interested in the integra-
tion of humans and machines as a way of making the operations of
war more efficient and foolproof. Thus much of the research into
the possibilities of cybernetic systems was funded by the military,
and was aimed at military applications. Indeed, as Edwards points
out, Cybernetics became the model for military command in the
Cold War.
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In such arrangements soldiers are merely necessary,
though risky, human elements in larger cybernetic systems. It was
this interest in such systems that led the military to be the major
customer for computers, as well as the principal architect of their
development. This happened directly through military-funded pro-
jects such as Whirlwind, the computer technology underpinning
the SAGE Early Warning System (illus.
), developed under the
guidance of Jay Forrester, one of the main proponents of cyber-
netic thinking. This has been described as 'the single most important
computer project of the post-war decade',
23
and involved the devel-
opment of extremely powerful and reliable computers, incorp-
orating many innovative technologies. Though immensely costly
and complex to construct, SAGE was fully operational by
17
.
From start to finish it had taken sixteen years to develop and had
cost over a billion dollars. It had also commanded the active collabo-
ration of many of the major commercial computer companies,
including IBM.
As a solution to the problems of air defence SAGE was almost
completely useless. By the time it was finished it was obsolete as a
technology, having been superseded by technologies such as transis-
tors and integrated circuits. In fact it may have never been effective
as an air defence technology, at least as far as automatic response and
1961
