The first half of this book was decent, covering some of the early days of coding/computing/technology. It covers a lot of ground but doesn’t go into much depth. At the same time, it fails to mention a number of the early contributors to computer science. If the first half was the entirety of this book, I would have rated it higher.
The second half is where things take a turn for the worst. Here the author’s bias and lack of objectivity are readily apparent. In the chapters on AI and big tech/social media, Thompson makes a number of arguments from cherry-picked data and presents his points from only one perspective. The reality is much more complex where problems such as bias in AI and abuse on social networks are much more complicated and nuanced.
Surprisingly, Thompson also argues against things like code bootcamps and STEM programs calling them biased and largely ineffective. On the topic of STEM, he argues that the recent focus in this area is doing harm by pulling away studies from fields such as humanities. It’s a pessimistic, zero-sum thinking outlook. Aren’t students capable of studying both STEM and humanities? Wouldn’t having this wider perspective be good for students and society at large? He also argues against the lack of diversity in tech as being a “sourcing” issue despite providing data to the contrary earlier in discussions around university enrollment. Again, he fails to present the true texture of the problem; i.e. this can be both a sourcing issue as well as an issue of present bias in the field each requiring different solutions to address.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed in this book and would not recommend it.