Page "Project Cybersyn" Paragraph 1

Project Cybersyn was a Chilean attempt in the years 1971 – 1973 ( during the government of President Salvador Allende ) to construct a top-down command and control decision support system to aid in the management of the national economy.

It was to consist of a network of telex machines ( Cybernet ) in state-run enterprises and government offices that would transmit information to a government-run mainframe computer in Santiago.

Information from the field would be fed into statistical modeling software ( Cyberstride ) that would monitor production parameters ( such as raw material supplies or high rates of worker absenteeism ) in real time, and alert government managers if those parameters fell outside acceptable ranges.

The information would also be input into economic simulation software ( CHECO, for CHIlean EConomic simulator ) that the government could use to forecast the possible outcome of economic decisions.

Finally, a sophisticated operations room ( Opsroom ) would provide a space where managers could see relevant economic data, formulate responses to emergencies, and transmit advice and directives to enterprises and factories using the telex network.

The principal architect of the system was British operations research scientist Stafford Beer, and the system embodied his notions of cybernetics in industrial management.