[SIGCIS-Members] Book Talk - Analog Superpowers: How Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State

[Brian Berg]

Hello,

A hybrid event on Tue, 11 March, at 7pm Pacific Time (Wed, 12 March at 2am
GMT) will feature author Dr. Kate Epstein about how both the British and US
government stole intellectual property in the interests of defense.

*In this talk, which draws on her new book Analog Superpowers: How
Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State
<https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo222008444.html>,
Katherine C. Epstein will explore a little-known but important chapter in
the history of analog computing, and its surprising connections with
today’s world of digital devices and great-power competition.*

*In the decade before World War I, two British civilians named Arthur
Pollen and Harold Isherwood invented an artificially intelligent analog
computer for aiming the big guns of battleships. Rather than pay for their
invention, however, first the British navy and then the US navy pirated
it. When the inventors sued for patent infringement, both governments
invoked legal privileges to withhold evidence on the grounds of
national-security secrecy. The US lawsuits became entangled with high-level
Anglo-American diplomacy during World War II and with the Manhattan
Project. The talk will thus speak to several major—and timely—issues: the
intersection of computer technology and geopolitical rivalry, the impact of
patent laws on defense innovation, and the scope of government secrecy.*
Register for this event at
https://californiaconsultants.org/event/analog-superpowers-how-20th-century-technology-theft-built-the-national-security-state/
_________________________
Brian A. Berg / bberg at StanfordAlumni.org
Berg Software Design - LinkedIn Profile
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaberg/>
180 Lithia Way, Suite 201, Ashland, OR 97520 USA
14500 Big Basin Way, Suite J, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA
Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505
Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents
FMS Technical Chair: www.FutureMemoryStorage.com
IEEE Milestones Subcommittee
<https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center/history-committee.html> Past
Chair
IEEE Region 6 <https://ieee-region6.org/about-us/region-6-officers/>
History/Milestones Chair
Curator: www.SiliconValleyMilestones.com
IEEE SCV Section <http://www.ieee.org/scv/> Past Chair / IEEE-CNSV
<http://www.CaliforniaConsultants.org> Board Director
IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee
<http://www.SiliconValleyHistory.com/> Vice-Chair
Co-Organizer: Celebrating 50 Years of the Internet
<https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ieee_ieee-activity-7221529803944771586-HB7S/>

_________________________

Brian Berg

FMS Technical Chair

408.568.2505

brian.berg at FutureMemoryStorage.com

www.FutureMemoryStorage.com
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