I don't know who first made the parallel between programming a computer and using a tool, but it was certainly implicit in Jack Licklider's thoughts about "man-machine symbiosis" as he set up the ARPA IPTO research projects in the early sixties. In 1962, Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad became the exemplar to this day for what interactive computing should be like--including having the end-user be able to reshape the tool.
Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad
Early Tools for Thought, Mark Bernstein @ Tools For Thought Rocks
IBM's "Man & Computer" (1967)
Stuart K. Card and Thomas P. Moran, "User Technology—From Pointing to Pondering"
Our interfaces have lost their senses
We programmed them by punching cards, plugging in wires, and flipping switches. Programmers walked among banks of switches and cables, physically choreographing their logic. Being on a computer used to be a full-body experience.
“The Third University of Cambridge”: BBN and the Development of the ARPAnet
We’ve all heard that “DARPA invented the Internet.” But few have heard of BBN, the contractor that did the most work to bring the ARPAnet into existence.
Andrej Karpathy: Software Is Changing (Again)
blokdots
blokdots is a simple to use software to build interactive hardware prototypes without a line of code.
The third golden age of software engineering – thanks to AI, with Grady Booch
The third golden age of software engineering – thanks to AI, with Grady Booch
The Ma of a New Machine – Scott Jenson
The current Silicon Valley flex is trading notes on your favorite new AI tools over lunch. Each week brings another one to explore. Some of these tools are very impressive; I’ve been able to reply to someone with an alternative UI design in less than a minute, and they were dumbfounded: “How did you do that so fast?”
From groups to individuals, micro-computing and us, Paul Rony
From groups to individuals, micro-computing and us, Paul Rony
The Git-ification of the World — Tim Morrissey
Why AI conquered software first, and what that tells us about which industries are next.
The future of programming and computing
Trends and adjacent possibles for the future of how computers are used and programmed
LIMITS 2026 -- Workshop on Computing within Limits
vit — open source is social
Humans approve intent, machines prove conformance
Introducing System One Models and Jev - TypeSafe AI Blog
Message from our CEO: After co-inventing ChatGPT, I kept asking myself: why have superhuman chat models not led to AGI? I’ve spent the last…
On-device intelligence for every product