Citation
Andrew, A.M. (2000), "Millennium bug", Kybernetes, Vol. 29 No. 9/10. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2000.06729iag.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited
Millennium bug
Millennium bug
The much-feared transition from 1999 to 2000 has passed with remarkably little upset, contrary to dire predictions that came from various sources, particularly through the Internet. It may be wrong to be too scornful of the prophets of doom, however, since they probably helped to stimulate the extensive programs of software checking that allowed almost everything to go smoothly over the critical period.
It is very difficult to say, in retrospect, just how narrowly civilisation escaped "a breakdown comparable to the fall of Rome or the demise of medieval society" as it was portrayed in one Internet source quoted by Stuart Umpleby in a communication to the CYBCOM list in November 1997. By the time this Commentary appears in print, the matter will have been thoroughly debated in a session arranged by Prof. Umpleby at the European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research (EMCSR) in Vienna in late April.