Bell Telephone, 1922

A Prehistory of Zoom

Concerns about privacy and pressures regarding the physical appearance of women and their homes contributed to the failure of AT&T’s 1960s Picturephone.
Christopher Strachey of the National Research Development Corporation demonstrates the memory drum of the Ferranti Mark 1, (also known as the Manchester Electronic Computer), which has 2,000 leads and functions in a similar way to the human brain, Moston, Manchester, February 1955.

The Love Letter Generator That Foretold ChatGPT

Alan Turing and Christopher Strachey created a ground-breaking computer program that allowed them to express affection vicariously when so doing publicly, as gay men, was criminal.
A 1906 Postcard from the National Electric Light Association's convention held at the boardwalk in Atlantic City New Jersey

Generating Electricity…and Uncertainty

As the tobacco and electrical industries demonstrate, US corporations have a history of sowing doubt for profit.
The Honeywell 316 Kitchen Computer

A Computer in Every Kitchen?

The 1969 Honeywell Kitchen Computer is a case study of early computer failures—or is it?
A robotic hand holding a pen

What if AI Operated with Intellectual Humility?

In the race between humans and machines, imagine a future in which everyone and everything wins.
Workmen at Federal Telegraph smoothing two castings for 80-ton magnets.

Vacuum Tube Valley 

Silicon Valley’s first high-tech enterprise, Federal Telegraph Co., provided communications for naval ships and radio stations at far-flung US imperial bases.
Enigma machine

Teaching AI, AKA Artificial Intelligence

AI is everywhere. So naturally, we pulled together a syllabus of stories on the subject. Use these to inspire classroom discussion or educate your grandpa.
William Henry Fox Talbot, by John Moffat, 1864

The Daguerreotype’s Famous. Why Not the Calotype?

William Henry Fox Talbot’s obsession with protecting his pioneering photographic process doomed his reputation and reduced his legacy to historical footnote.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Game, Saw, Conquered: Nationalism in Indonesian Video Games

Whether in cutscenes or gameplay, multi-player video games can help rewrite history or encourage an investment in national sovereignty.
soldier using tablet computer hands closeup pnk background pixelated neural network concept

As Militaries Adopt AI, Hype Becomes a Weapon

Few things provoke quite the same amount of anxiety as the effect AI could have on warfare.