Why every computer still follows a 1940s blueprint | David Alan Grier: Full Interview

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Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://bigthink.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_desc Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1 Up next, Why 2025 is the single most pivotal year in our lifetime | Peter Leyden ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5k72A30kUc&vl=en Before computers existed, people performed massive calculations by hand where error, repetition, and standardization shaped the outcome. We tracked comets, mapped nations, and solved problems of scale. That legacy of manual calculation shapes how we live today; our modern algorithms and the shaping of predictive models. Dr. David Alan Grier explains the unexpected link between the Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence. 0:00 Chapter 1: Computers and the Industrial Revolution 6:30 Computation as a tool of exploration 9:54 Measuring a nation into existence 12:22 From human computers to mechanical ones 20:06 The clockwork foundations of modern computing 24:55 Chapter 2: The power of standardization 29:11 The power of standardization 32:03 Standardizing education 37:55 Chapter 3: Computing the human experience 41:05 Expanding data to the human experience 41:58 Automating the census 46:55 Chapter 4: How computers change us 48:50 From ENIAC to ARPANET 54:45 When computing became personal 58:58 Adapting to algorithmic life 1:03:47 Chapter 5: When machines replace humans 1:12:18 The first data ownership fight 1:19:20 AI is not new Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/full-interview/industrial-revolution-computing/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description © Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Youtube Member Get exclusive classes and early, ad-free access to new releases without leaving Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@bigthink/membership/ ►Become a Big Think Web Member Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more. https://bigthink.com/membership/ ►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox. https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/subscribe/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About David Alan Grier: David Alan Grier, PhD, is a professor, writer, author, and speaker on issues of technology, society, and organizations. He is the author of several books including When Computers Were Human, which chronicles the 200-year history of how human computers performed calculations by hand. Grier is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).