The Fifth Generation, By Edward A. Feigenbaum And Pamela Mccorduck. Addison-wesley, Reading, Ma 01867, 275 Pp., $15.55.

 

Sort of an "Eggplant that Ate Chicago" science-fiction adventure, except that the science part is real: a takeover of the computer industry by the Japanese within 10 years. The title refers to a sophisticated stage of computer development embracing artificial intelligence. This bold aim has been announced in a plan formulated by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, an acronym we will soon see a lot more frequently), and is already underway. As described by one of the founders of the concept of AI and a well-known technical writer, the technology itself is startling, but the prospect of America's being wiped out of high-technology by 1992 is scarier than setting Godzilla loose in Silicon Valley.