Computer Power and Human Reason

What Hacker News says

1. _doctor_loveApr 2026
   See Computer Power and Human Reason - many powerful lessons in there.
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2. mooredsFeb 2025
   "Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation" by Joseph Weizenbaum
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3. p_v_doomFeb 2025
   The Architects Paradox is an absolute must read IMO. It really challenges the way we think about software.

   Architecture modernization is a must for everyone that works with legacy systems and modernization.

   Something not new at all, but new to me is Computer Power and Human Reason - written way back in the 70s it still feels very relevant, and its interesting that they had pretty much the same conversations about AI back then as today.

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4. norirJan 2025
   The most impactful book I read this year was "Computer Power and Human Reason" by Joseph Weizenbaum. For a book written about ai in 1976, it has aged very well.
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5. norirJan 2025
   Highly recommend that anyone interested in ai and/or Eliza read Joseph Wizenbaum's (creator of Eliza) book "Computer Power and Human Reason." It holds up remarkably well for a book written in 1976 about ai.
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6. jonjackyMay 2024
   Computer Power and Human Reason by Joseph Weizenbaum. It's a true classic.

   Weizenbaum wrote the first AI chat program, Eliza, sixty years ago. I read his book shortly after it came out in 1976, and several times since, most recently last year after ChatGPT etc. arrived. I was impressed again how pertinent and prescient it is.

   A fifty year old book about AI is still relevant because it is mostly about peoples' motivations for building and using AI, their expectations for it, and their responses to it. These haven't changed in fifty years and don't depend on the technology in the AI, or what it can actually do.

   Weizenbaum recognizes that making and using computer technology has moral and ethical consequences and isn't afraid to say so. He argues that computers should not be used for some purposes, whether or not they can be made to work.

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