Program announced for western joint computer conferencce

THE PROGRAM of the Western Joint Computer Conference, to be held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif., May 6–8, 1958, has been released by Conference chairman W. H. Ware of The Rand Corporation. Under the general theme of “Contrasts in Computers,” the Conference, sponsored by AIEE, Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), will present 12 sessions during 3 days, divided equally between panel discussions of controversial aspects of computer design and application and technical sessions devoted to individual papers. In addition, an opening panel session under the chairmanship of H. T. Larson of Aeronutronic Systems, Inc., will explore “The Social Problems of Automation,” with H. P. Lasswell, professor of law and political science, Yale School of Law; O. A. Knight, president of the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers´ International Union; and C. C. Hurd, director of automation research, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), discussing the broad social problems arising from the introduction of computers and related automatic techniques into our industrial society.