[SIGCIS-Members] Hey Google, What's a Moonshot: How Silicon Valley Mocks Apollo

[Thomas Haigh]

Hello SIGCIS,

 

This being the anniversary year for Apollo 11, I have used my latest piece
in Communications of the ACM (Jan 2019) to contrast the actual scope, cost,
organization and impact of the Apollo program with the smug and historically
ignorant misappropriation of the "moonshot" concept by Google/Alphabet in
its "moonshot factory" branding. Thanks to Paul Ceruzzi and Matthew Hersch
for checking over the space history side of things for me (though as always
any errors are mine).

 

https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2019/1/233518-hey-google-whats-a-moonshot/ful
ltext 

 

In a way this is parallel to the "maintainers" critique made by Lee and Andy
but approaching from the opposite direction. Even if you think that radical
innovation is the most and only important thing society needs, the problem
is that the federal government and tech industry are no longer willing to
spend the kind of money needed to deliver it. 

 

I'm working on a talk version of this, if anyone wants to invite me to
deliver it..

 

Best wishes,


Tom

 

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