THE HUMAN SIDE OF COMPUTERS

Those who fear that our inefficient ""meat computers"" may soon be replaced by some self-reproducing, all-powerful HAL may be slightly reassured by Cohen's sane if not prophetic overview of the social impact of thinking machines. Cohen reminds us that predictions of mechanical chess champions and translators have failed to come true and that the abuses of computerized bill collectors and data systems are really the responsibility of human beings. Even a disappointing chapter such as the one on ""politics and polling"" serves a purpose by reminding us how little we know about the long-range effects of computers on our social system. Readers here can forget about nightmare futures and concentrate on the very present potential of computer crime--everything from more dating game rip-offs and Equity Funding scandals to the takeover of Defense Department missile delivery systems by sophisticated terrorists. Useful software for ""meat computers"" with no previous technical input.