It has become increasingly clear in recent times that the fields of artificial intelligence, logic programming and parallel computing have assumed a central significance in the proposed development of the American Strategic Defence Initiative ("Star Wars"). In this outspoken book Richard Ennals, a leading figure in AI research, highlights how current political systems are inadequate for coping with the advanced technology employed in concepts such as SDI. There are, he suggests, alternative areas of human activity, like health and education, where AI could be put to more beneficial use.