The Humans of Computing: Past, Present and Future

Technology is not created in a vacuum. It is created, operated and used by people. As such, it cannot be fully understood without accounting for the role of humans. This seminar will explore system and network operations through a sociotechnical lens.

We will explore the question, “how did we get here and where are we going?”

In order to move forward, it is important to understand where we come from. We will begin by diving into the (recent) history of computing and the Internet. We will then examine current sociotechnical research into system and network operations. After this, we will collectively imagine our technological futures.

Particularly, the learning objectives of this seminar are:
• Understand the gendered history of computing
• Discover the role of certain key figures, both in the past and present
• Describe system and network operations as a sociotechnical system
• Discuss the role of gender in today’s computing infrastructure and operations
• Imagine equitable digital futures