Our Friend the Computer

OGAS (Pre-Internet Networks)

February 15, 2022 Our Friend the Computer Season 1 Episode 2
Our Friend the Computer
OGAS (Pre-Internet Networks)
Show Notes

Ana and Camila chat about the development of a Soviet nationwide information network in the 60s that was meant to run a planned economy for the USSR. Built after Sputnik’s launch, it brought about Soviet cybernetics and promised a new era for Soviet sciences, mathematics economics and technology. Discussing the project’s termination due to inner-bureaucratic competition, this episode also looks at ARPANET’s simultaneous development; its surprisingly socialist structures of funding and collaborative mindsets that led to its success.

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Main research for the episode was done by Ana who also edited.
Music by Nelson Guay (SoundCloud: fluxlinkages)

References:
-
“How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet”, Benjamin Peters, 2016
- “Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration”, Ed Catmull, 2014
- “The Californian Ideology”, Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron, 1995