They were ceded these jobs because the male computing engineers considered dealing with the hardware - the large computers like ENIAC - the more important work and were content to leave the “mundane” task of programming the machines to women. Among the first ironies: women made up the initial wave of programmers. Mixing personal stories with broader history, he presents a thumbnail history of coding, from its early days in the 1950’s to the present. Using a clear, mostly compelling, and fairly neutral tone, he describes where we find ourselves today. The author of Coders, Clive Thompson, who writes for Wired and other publications, is not as pessimistic about what is happening as I am.
Unless you have the rare skill set and/or the necessary determination to carve out a life that’s off the grid, we apparently have no alternative but to live a life increasingly dominated by technology, an existence increasingly governed by algorithms and code.Īs Oliver Hardy said to Stan Laurel: “This is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.” We are so in thrall to “smart” devices and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that, unless or until the effects of catastrophic weather events or war decimate our technical infrastructure, we will continue to cede power to our computer masters. That might be because of our naïve, even Pollyanna-ish, view of the notion of “progress.” We are content to ask a few simple questions: Will it make my life easier? Will it positively impact my income? Will it amuse me in new ways? Of course, these are reasonable questions, but they don’t address how new technology is transforming our inner lives as well as our relationships to others.Īt this late point in technology’s evolution, in-depth discussions of its impact may seem too little, too late. Penguin Random House, 448 pages, $28.Īs a culture, we have had few serious public discussions about the impact of new technologies.
Coders had nothing in their intellectual toolbox that would help them understand people.Ĭoders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Clive Thompson.
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