From the editor

This first issue of the Newsletter reflects, to some degree, a new trend of thought emerging withing the IEEE itself and in the awareness of concerned technical professionals everywhere. As the modern world becomes both smaller and more technologically sophisticated every day, it has become increasingly apparent that the isolated decisions made by scientists and engineers have repercussions far beyond the labs and drawing boards where they were originally conceived. The application or misapplication of our creative engineering energies and the confusion over social priorities has aroused controversy and concern among a growing number of members of the engineering fraternity. The IEEE has attempted to respond to this concern by creating such groups as the AdHoc Committee on the Application of Electro-technology to Social Problems, as well as by advocating changes in the present Constitution which would allow the Institute as a whole greater latitude in areas of professional interest. The AdHoc Committee on Social Implications of Technology, stemming originally from a petition signed by over 400 interested IEEE members, is the newest outgrowth of this effort. CSIT is committed to providing a forum in which all IEEE members, as well as other experts in non-technical fields such as law, economics and the social sciences, may express their thoughts concerning the social, ethical, medical, legal and moral implications of the present course of the engineering discipline. In the coming months such diverse issues as electronic warfare, environmental pollution, urban crime, communication and transportation, electronic surveillance, governmental and private data banks, and engineering and health problems will all be discussed. There will also be notices of meetings, lectures and discussion groups, publication of papers and articles, reviews of pertinent bibliographical data and finally, personal commentary. In some respects we recognize that this may be a new departure from t- e traditional role of a technical organization, but we feel that the time is ripe, and a new awareness of the responsibility of the engineer to his society, and to himself, is long overdue.