Now The Chips Are Down (1978) BBC Horizon

Now The Chips Are Down (1/3)

In 1978 Horizon broadcast a famous programme, Now The Chips Are Down, about the invention of the silicon chip. It predicted the death of the Swiss watch industry, permanent mass unemployment and showcased a new invention called a "word processor" that would see the end of the typing pool. It was a surprisingly negative view and was followed by a debate with a Government minister about what could be done to prevent a terrible future of mass unemployment. Cabinet members watched the programme to find out what the microprocessor was all about. A comprehensive approach about the applications and implications for the future, particularly the effects on the labour market, of microprocessors.