SOVIET CYBERNETICS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000100400004-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 2, 2000
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: March 14, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2000/05/24: CIA-RDP75-001
wA;;;1 ;G'1'ON 1oSt
AND TIMES HERALD
MAR 14 1964
Soviet Cybernetics
CPYRGHT
ics" (Feb. 12) which linke
the science of communicatio
and control with the Sovie
:da with the deletion, of ni,
statement that the U.S.S.R. hac
"learned the art, the science
of communication and contro
,of the minds and 'actions o
'its 226 million, people." Thi
(lends credence to the conten
tion that the Kremlin recd
n i z e s that cybernetics i
crucial to the ultimate goal
of communism.' The CPSU i
reluctant to admit that contra
of both computerized system
as well as informat1o
,processing by the hum a
brain are prerequisites to th
"advance" from socialism t
%"Pure" communism. This is i
line with the Soviet practic
of "'concealing indicators o
future power and, when all i
ready, the cloak is removed t
eveal the'dagger.1. .
In spite of experience, the
U.S. is prone to weakly under
estimate this kind of behavior
Somehow, like the once im
Aerial British, we ' ultimatel
muddle t h r o u g h but. thi.
,weakness could lead to on
ultimate demise as a worl
power in spite of our presen
and overwhelming strengths.
-Examples leap to mind: We
the first to fly, flew no U.S.
built airplanes in the Firs
World War; we perfected the
1first submarine yet, in tw
World Wars, we came nearer
to defeat in the, underwater
environment than elsewhere
(now the U.S.S.R. has 400 sub
,marines, 30 nuclear powered)
by-1940 the U.S.- Navy led th
world, in carriers and 'strik
aircraft but we were beaten t
our knees at Pearl Harbor; i
the. 1930s, Goddard led th
world in rocketry, in .1944-
the Nazis showered thousand
of missiles on England whil
.we had none, and in the 1950
..we Soviets_ led 'us into spac
with superior rockets; on
15;000 fishing boats are infe
rior to hundreds' of. Sovie
superior electronics an
fishing gdar all
with. an anti
fishing vessels with sonar an
;words deleted' Top- Pravda
.
submarine capability (latter
version oi t ieuer);~
by 1930, the Soviet mercantile,
fleet will have 4 times the car-,
rying power of ours; today
about 1000 Soviet air trans-
ports (70 per cent jet or tur-
boprop) carried 27 million
people in 1963 and will carry
200 million in 1980 which fa-
vorably compares with U.S.
domestic carriers which fleu?
62 million ' passengers with
1858 aircraft; and communism,
continues its self-evident.
erosion of weak' nations in,
spite of the strong U.S.A.'
Meanwhile, cybernetics has
become the crucial mocha=
nism that can convert an other-;
wise impracticable Communist
system into a viable totalitarian
economy that will compete
with the U.S. for'Its share of
world trade.
The CIA's recent and;
wishful assossnicnt of the So-
viet economy suggests that its
is headed for inevitable del
feline. Lest we too readily
agree, it would be prudent to;
compare the CIA report with!
that of the Central Statistical
Administration of the U.S.S.R.
Council of Ministers which;
states that in 1963 "Soviet in=
dustrial output on the whole,
equaled about 65 per cent of,
the U.S. figure in the past
year compared with 47 per
cent in 1957 and 33 per cent
in 1953." In a decade, Soviet
per capita industrial output
rose 128 per cent compared
with 15 per cent in the U.S.A.,
True, grain dropped from 56,6,
million tons in 1962 to, 44.8 in,
1963, If these statistics are in,;
correct by 10 or even 20 per;
'cent, they 'remain impressive.;
But a common comment is
that Soviet statistics are unre-I
liable! (Like Goldwatered mis-,
silos, I suppose).
Aye, and the relative accu?,
racy leaves much to .be desired-
concerning our own assess-1
ments of economic, political,'
scientific, technological, andl
military threats.
Ride again, Paul Revere, to!
warn the President lest covert
thinkers hold too great a sway,
and minute-men be outflanked
ROBERT BICKNELL:;
Washington. ,yy
Approved F or Release 2000105/24 CIA-I DP75-001498000100400004
CPYRGHT