A colleague sent me this very interesting and thought provoking article exploring the links between the industrialisation of control in the 19th Century, the arrangement and organisation of the plantation, and Charles Babbages’ engines: https://logicmag.io/supa-dupa-skies/origin-stories-plantations-computers-and-industrial-control/. It makes a powerful argument for engaging with racialised consideration of labour in our understanding of the early origins of computing. 

p.s. please remember to uphold the list Acceptable Use Policy (https://www.sigcis.org/aup) when discussing intellectually provocative pieces!