history of technology

• 
• 12/6/2020
  

  How Wood Helped America Become Great – But Mislay its Sense of History

  by Roland Ennos

  Industrializing America's infrastructure was much more likely than Europe's to be made of wood. This accident of nature and geography helped drive rapid expansion, but today means much of the 19th century built environment of the United States has vanished. 

• 
• SOURCE: War on the Rocks
  6/8/2020
  

  The Promise and Risks of Artificial Intelligence: A Brief History

  by Rebecca Slayton

  Machines have been taking over tasks that otherwise require human intelligence for decades, if not centuries.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/10/19
  

  How antitrust laws can save Silicon Valley — without breaking up the tech giants

  by Margaret O'Mara

  For AT&T in the 1950s, antitrust enforcement helped increase competition while keeping Ma Bell intact.

• 
• SOURCE: Slate
  6/19/19
  

  Historians Luke Fernandez and Susan Matt ask: Has Technology Made Us Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid?

  by Rebecca Onion

  A new book takes a historical look at how tech affects our collective mental state—and somehow, it’s not tedious.