<![CDATA[This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better.]]>This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. The same thing is happening with “AI” now.

We know what would make society better.

One example is UBI (which Weizenbaum mentions in the same book in passing as “negative income tax”).

But of course we don’t have universal healthcare or UBI nor really any other advances (perhaps the ADA was a rare win); instead trillions of dollars are invested into software that tells us to bomb schools; for the sole reason to say it was the computers’ fault, not ours.

This book* was written 50 years ago.

*Computer Power and Human Reason

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/47c69df4-b296-414a-8145-cd2453a173fb/this-is-what-weizenbaum-wrote-about-the-dawn-of-the-computer-age-it-was-used-as-an-excuse-to-not-even-try-to-make-society-better.RSS for NodeSun, 05 Apr 2026 20:56:03 GMTMon, 23 Mar 2026 01:49:05 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:26:43 GMT]]>@thomasfuchs Even Sagan fell for ELIZA!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276120997178580https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276120997178580Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:26:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:09:39 GMT]]>@thomasfuchs that's what I'm doing. Just don't tell Weizenbaum.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276053898990352https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276053898990352Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:09:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:09:08 GMT]]>@thomasfuchs also, that encounter between Polanyi and Bukharin in the introduction!

The same thing has happened with science under Trump, but instead of the "Five Year Plan," it's whatever fluffs up Trump, the evangelicals, and the billionaires.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276051886737225https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276051886737225Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:09:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:08:04 GMT]]>@emma https://archive.org/details/computerpowerhum0000weiz_v0i3/page/n4/mode/1up

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/116276047688293271https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/116276047688293271Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:08:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:07:20 GMT]]>@emma archive.org has it, can read it for free 🙂

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/116276044816356890https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/116276044816356890Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:07:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:04:43 GMT]]>@thomasfuchs trying to find a copy of that book is a challenge. Used copies are going for close to a hundred and neither SF or Oakland libraries have it. IIL search shows that Whittier College might have a copy.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276034531909754https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://orbital.horse/users/emma/statuses/116276034531909754Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:04:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:00:51 GMT]]>“AI” is truly the ultimate expression (perhaps literally) of trying to solve social problems with technical solutions

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/116276019265630350https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/116276019265630350Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:00:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to This is what Weizenbaum wrote about the dawn of the computer age: it was used as an excuse to not even try to make society better. on Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:50:07 GMT]]>@thomasfuchs

Read that book in high school early 90's... I think it's like a GenX computer toucher bible

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/dlakelan/statuses/116275977062058395https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/dlakelan/statuses/116275977062058395Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:50:07 GMT