How the U.S. developed its competitive edge post the World War II era?

Technological development based on basic scientific research is the cornerstone of the U.S. economic prosperity. Government-funded basic research has created breakthrough technologies like the Internet, microchips, supercomputers, the flu shot, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), commercial aviation, GPS, and vaccines to name a few.[1] ?According the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Competitive Index, technology-driven innovation has given the U.S. competitive edge to dominate the global economy.[2] ?Most key technologies used by all major technology, industrial, and services companies are based on the decades of government-funded basic scientific research post the WWII era.?

The origins of the government funding of basic scientific research can be traced back to Vannevar Bush who headed the military R&D during World War II. He had a strong view that the U.S. needed to coordinate scientific research activities in alignment with military needs. He made a formal proposal to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to centrally coordinate WWII scientific funding and research activities by creating a government agency. He led the newly created Office of Scientific Research & Development (OSRD), which brought together over six thousand nation’s top scientists to create numerous breakthrough technologies, such as, the proximity fuze, radar, advanced weapons and vehicles, medical treatments, and the Manhattan Project.[3] ?His technical background and insights gained during the OSRD work helped him propose a strategy that made government-funded scientific research essential for both national security and economic prosperity in a report titled “Science, the Endless Frontier.”[4] ?His strategy became the post-war U.S. science policy and is followed to this date. He also articulated a compelling postwar roadmap in 1945 for scientists in the article “As We May Think,” Vannevar Bush.[5] ?He detailed early concepts of various futuristic technologies, e.g., information technology systems, desktop computing systems, optical scanners, search, voice recognition, touch input, intelligent databases, mass storage, and computer processors. The major premise of the article is that access to collective knowledge or information will be the key to solving problems and improving quality of life. He urged the scientists to focus and create information technology instruments in the post WWII era.?

This article presents a compelling view of how the WWII instruments created by the physicists can be advanced to usher in the information technology age. His primary audience were a large group of nation’s top physicists - as he wanted to ensure that they can collaborate and create peacetime breakthroughs based on an inspirational vision which is beneficial to all mankind. He also understood the need to provide a vision, which is grounded in reality, to convince a group of top scientists. In the article, he highlighted the benefits of science as experienced by humans, such as, improvements in clothing, food, shelter, and security. He also emphasized the advances in medicine and increase in human life span. He asserted that progress has been made by communicating knowledge or record of ideas between individuals. And it is the collective knowledge of the human race that is going to be the key to unlock future discoveries and technologies. Therefore, access to knowledge in an intelligent way will be critical as we are making specialized scientific advancement without any means of sharing or linking scientific knowledge across disciplines. He concluded that the traditional ways of accessing information has reached its physical limitations and progress will be hindered as a result. With this context, he highlighted several enabling technologies, such as, photocells and thermionic tubes, that can build a future where anyone can access relevant knowledge anytime and anywhere.?

The most fascinating aspect of the article is how he systematically break downs various technologies to articulate his vision which can be expected from a brilliant engineer and visionary. But his ability to link future technologies with insights into commercialization aspects is remarkable. He clearly understood that technological solutions cannot be realized without manufacturing capability, reliability, and the required cost structure. The key insight he shared was that complex devices can be made cheaply and reliably - opening up a world of possibilities of bringing advanced technological solutions to the mainstream population. He essentially progressed technologies developed in early 1940’s, along with cost and manufacturing factors, to create a complete user-centered technology roadmap for his vision of the information age.?

To describe user needs and technology solutions in the article, Bush does a great job of building the roadmap in logical layers. He first starts out by explaining the progression of the camera and how it can be used for not just taking pictures but also capturing information using electrical signals. He then extends this logic to show how captured information can be used to build fax machines, barcode scanners, and compact storage systems. He also describes other input mechanisms like voice recognition, touch input, and stylus to capture information. Then, he identifies that current computing systems are limited and presents an architecture of a general-purpose computer system hundred times faster with logic, instruction set, processor, and storage elements. After showing how information can be captured, stored, and processed, he introduces the concept of searching for information via association indexing or search in modern terms. He also helps the audience visualizes the physical instantiation of this system as a desktop computer with a keyboard, storage, and display. He called this concept “Memex”, capable of storing books, newspapers, photos, records, and communications. His approach to solve real-life user problems came through the Memex use cases and applications described in the article. The central idea he presented behind his roadmap was the mechanism to create, store, and search for knowledge.?

This article provided a much needed and compelling post-war mission for the scientific community, a case of continued collaboration, an innovative technology blueprint, and an inspiring vision of the future where information technology will be the key enabler for human progress. This article and his work influenced the U.S. policies, funding, research focus, technologies, members of the scientific community, academia, and industry. As a result of his vision, information technology became the key differentiator economically and militarily for the U.S with decades of lead ahead the rest of the world. However, the article did not consider the second-order effects of the information technologies, such as, misinformation, personal data theft, and security. For example, the misinformation spread on digital platforms have upended our political system, created social divisions, and changed human behavior. Bush had enough experience with the misuse of technology during WWII and saw the start of the cold war but remained very optimistic when constructing his peacetime technology roadmap.?

Arguably, Bush was a unique systems thinker and understood the power of collaboration across disciplines. His idea to form a coordinated science and technology effort during WWII, and the post-war influence on policy, propelled the U.S. into a superpower status - both militarily and economically. Typically, our society produces great scientists, technologists, engineers, and rare systems thinkers. But Bush was much more than a systems thinker as he understood other critical factors, such as, cost, manufacturing, policy, user needs, collaboration, and effective administration to build successful technological solutions. His background as a world-class engineer, prolific inventor, successful entrepreneur, computer designer, professor, leader, and an administrator gave him a unique perspective and insights than any other individual of the time.[6] ?His experiences allowed him to successfully lead the U.S. research efforts during WWII, develop the post war strategy, and provide a compelling peacetime vision for mankind - impacting not just the U.S. but every human on earth. Perhaps, Vannevar Bush was one of the most consequential member of the U.S. scientific community.

[1] ?Monteil A. 50 inventions you might not know were funded by the US government. Stacker. Published December 9, 2020. Accessed June 30, 2021.?https://stacker.com/stories/5483/50-inventions-you-might-not-know-were-funded-us-government

[2] ?Henry-Nickie M, Frimpong K, Sun H. Trends in the Information Technology sector. Brookings. Published March 29, 2019. Accessed June 30, 2021.?https://www.brookings.edu/research/trends-in-the-information-technology-sector/

[3] ?Meyer, Michal. “The Rise and Fall of Vannevar Bush.”?Science History Institute, 21 July 2018,?www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-rise-and-fall-of-vannevar-bush . Accessed 20 July 2021.

[4] ?“Science the Endless Frontier.”?National Science Foundation, United Sates government printing office, 25 July 1945,?www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/nsf50/vbush1945.htm ?. Accessed 20 July 2021.

[5] ?Bush, Vannevar. “As We May Think.”?The Atlantic, The Atlantic, July 1945,?www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/ . Accessed 20 July 2021.

[6] ?Zachary, G. Pascal.?Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century.?New York: Free Press, 1997.