Talking with Machines: Computer Programming as Language
The proliferation of different types of computing machines in the 1950s enabled—or perhaps forced—the creation of programming languages.
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 Computer in Every Kitchen?
The 1969 Honeywell Kitchen Computer is a case study of early computer failures—or is it?
The Whole Earth Catalog, Where Counterculture Met Cyberculture
Long before Facebook or Twitter, an L.L. Bean-style catalog for hippies inspired the creation of one of the world’s first social networks.
Semiconductor Shortages End an Era of Globalization
Our security studies columnist on leanness, supply chains, and resilience in a post-pandemic world.
Bonnie Nardi
Welcome to Ask a Professor, our series that offers an insider’s view of life in academia. This month we interviewed Bonnie Nardi.
Thank Minitel for the French Election
Minitel gave the French a very specific experience of the digital realm, compared with other places where networked information arrived via the internet.
WWII and the First Ethical Hacker
Rene Carmille has been called the first ethical hacker for sabotaging the computerization of data about French Jews during World War II.
When the AI Promotes Genocide
It seemed like a good idea; Microsoft introduced an Artificial Intelligence (AI), Tay, to comment on social media ...
