Microelectronics And Society

Microelectronics and Society

Through automation and miniaturisation, microelectronics has vast potential for thrusting society into a new phase. It promises to revolutionise the information handling aspects of our lives. But to gain maximum benefit from this breakthrough, microelectronics must be harnessed to society's needs. To help this process a multidisciplinary group of authors has prepared a report to the Club of Rome on the likely impact of microelectronics on our futures

Microelectronics and Society

The Socio-Economic Impact of Microelectronics

The Socio-Economic Impact of Microelectronics contains papers presented at an international conference on socio-economic problems and potentialities of the application of micro-electronics held in Zandvoort, the Netherlands, in September 1979. Organized into eight sections, this book begins with the technological evaluation of microelectronics. Subsequent sections focus on the social economic and political consequences of the widespread use of microelectronics; opportunities and problems for socialist countries brought about by microelectronics technology; effects of microelectronics on developing countries; as well as problems connected with industrial relations and organization of work. The influence of the technology on political/economic, epistemological, ethical/moral, and esthetic values and a broad concept of informatics introducing the notions of living and non-living environments as well as of human, non-human, constructed, natural, and abstract systems are explained. The last section contains the conclusions of the chairman of the conference on the application of microelectronics.