Interactive computing · 1960 · J. C. R. Licklider

Man-Computer Symbiosis

Reframe computers from batch calculators into interactive partners that handle routinizable work while humans formulate goals, hypotheses, and judgments.

The central move

Reframe computers from batch calculators into interactive partners that handle routinizable work while humans formulate goals, hypotheses, and judgments.

Why it had to exist

People spent much of technical work preparing, moving, and reducing information for machines rather than thinking with them. Batch turnaround broke the feedback loop needed for exploration.

Where it leads

Interactive computing → time-sharing → personal computing → copilots and mixed-initiative systems.

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