computer threat greater than nuclear one

[Doug Millison]

I had a chance to spend an afternoon interviewing Bill Joy back in '88, for
a series of articles I was writing. He struck me as intelligent and humble
and very down to earth, not a typical combination. I haven't read the Wired
article referred to in the Washington Post piece, but I'll look for it and
read what he has to say. Pynchon readers might want to refer to TRP's
introduction to Jim Dodge's novel, _Stone Junction_, where Pynchon riffs on
the dangers of the computer-networked environment for which  Joy has served
as one of the principal architects. In that context, Pynchon speaks more of
the challenges to civil liberties that network technology poses. Way back
in '84 he said:

"If our world survives, the next great challenge to watch out for will come
-- you heard it here first - when the curves of research and development in
artificial intelligence, molecular biology and robotics all converge. Oboy.
It will be amazing and unpredictable, and even the biggest of brass, let us
devoutly hope, are going to be caught flat-footed. It is certainly
something for all good Luddites to look forward to if, God willing, we
should live so long. "

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