Smart Friends

#091 The Magic of Code, History of Computing, and the Future of AI Interfaces [Sam Arbesman #2]

22 Jul 2025

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Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:14) - The magic of code (00:05:30) - The wonder of early computing (00:11:13) - The evolution of computing: From analog to digital (00:18:45) - The personal computer revolution (00:32:36) - The future of computing: Beyond silicon (00:36:59) - The importance of computing history (00:40:53) - AI and human uniqueness (00:50:46) - The future of AI and computing interfaces (01:02:13) - The intersection of playfulness and utility in computing (01:11:17) - Conclusion and final thoughts Links: Books: God & Golem, Inc. — https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262730065/god--golem-inc In the Beginning... Was the Command Line — https://www.harpercollins.com/products/in-the-beginning-was-the-command-line-neal-stephenson I, Robot — https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/180504/i-robot-by-isaac-asimov The Half-Life of Facts — https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310285/the-half-life-of-facts-by-sam-arbesman The Magic of Code — https://themagicofcode.com Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet — https://www.harpercollins.com/products/tubes-andrew-blum People: Eric Jorgenson — https://www.ericjorgenson.com Sam Arbesman — https://arbesman.net Podcasts: The Orthogonal Bet — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-orthogonal-bet/id1682641800 Companies: Lux Capital — https://www.luxcapital.com tldraw — https://www.tldraw.com Websites / Tools / Platforms: Arbesman.net — https://arbesman.net Internet Archive Spacewar Emulation — https://archive.org/details/spacewar_202301 To support the costs of producing this podcast: Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter Text the podcast to a friend Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: Why software can be seen as ACTUAL MAGIC The combination of history and science fiction for more accurate prediction The phases of computing technology, and what might be next after silicon The creative opportunities for the future of software Quotes from Sam: “Software is absolutely magic. It's wizardry. It's sorcery. Nobody gets it.” “We actually can use text and code to affect the world around us.” “Computing should almost be this humanistic liberal art—it should connect to language and philosophy and art.” “Code is not a substance, but it operates in the world.” “Computers are weird everything machines.” “We’re shielded from the vast complexity of computing—until something goes wrong.” “People used to build computers in their garages. Now we can’t even open them.” “Unix is like the Epic of Gilgamesh of computing—it’s been around for decades and it’s still foundational.” “AI is powerful, but it’s part of a much longer conversation around tools for thought.” “Biology is a wildly different computer than anything we would ever use to compute with.” “Science fiction doesn’t always predict well, but it gives us worlds we can aim toward.” “I want more weird, playful experimentation in computing—something beyond the chat interface.” “Computing history is so young that many of the pioneers are still around to email.” “Ultimately, all these tools were developed for people. They’re meant to be in service of humans.”

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13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

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12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

2ª PARTE | 06 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

3ª PARTE | 22 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

3ª PARTE | 04 MAR 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

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Smart Friends

#091 The Magic of Code, History of Computing, and the Future of AI Interfaces [Sam Arbesman #2]

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other recent transcribed episodes

13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

2ª PARTE | 06 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

3ª PARTE | 22 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

3ª PARTE | 04 MAR 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

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