Ellen Ullman

I share much of Ms. Ullman's history in the last 50 years of computing. I actually got into the field a dozen years before her (1966). I enjoyed reminiscing and had fun recalling some of the thousands of old acronyms we live/lived by.
She did move into the implications of the internet for society in the final chapters.
I suspect that old timers like me will find some of her history of more interest than modern (younger) readers.
Everyone can share interest in the implications of AI (Artificial intelligence), and in the loss of personal privacy.… (meer)

This is a fascinating collection of essays, all related to various topics around computer programming, predictions about the future of computing, artificial intelligence, and the culture of the technology world. These essays were written over the past 3 decades, so it is interesting to see how some of these topics have and have not changed over time.

I read this right as artificial intelligence has exploded into our daily lives through ChatGPT and other AI models. A lot of the predictions and fears that Ullman writes about in the 90s are coming to fruition now, and it's interesting to see how much the conversation has and has not changed since then.

Ullman's perspective as a woman in IT is interesting, particularly as she talks about artificial intelligence. The men who talk about AI envision it as a brain in a box, but Ullman writes about intelligence as requiring a body. As AI brings up concerns about what makes us human, Ullman emphasizes the fact that being human requires having a body, and all of the stresses, insecurities, and joys that a mortal body entails. I think it's a lot easier for men in a male-dominated industry to ignore their bodies than women.

Ullman's chapter on Y2K does a wonderful job of capturing the uncertainties and fears around Y2K, and how the public was stuck between predictions of apocalypse and reassurances that everything would be fine, with no real way of knowing how it was going to turn out until it happened. This will be a perfect primary source for future historians.

As a memoir, this book is often about Ullman's love/hate relationship with technology. She loves coding and has a deep drive to solve problems in code, but at the same time, finds male-dominated IT culture to be off-putting and often downright hostile.… (meer)