The first electronic computers were developed during W.W.II, to break clever German and Japanese codes. The invention of the transistor, then the integrated-circuit chip, enabled computers to shrink from room to pocket size. Defying generations of skeptics, this miniaturization continues apace. These tiny chips have other functions besides calculating. In recent months microscopic electric motors have been developed, which could eventually power machines and robots the size of fleas, or smaller.
Tiny radars can now protect car bumpers, operate household switches, and more.
For good or ill, video cameras the size of postage stamps are now available. With infrared sensors and wireless connections, these cameras can secretly watch, always and anywhere, even in the dark. Surely this is a key aspect of Big Brother. Such chip-based devices would be of limited use if they needed to be 'accessed' by hand, one by one. However, they can be, and usually are, connected.