# The Prehistory of IT

- Institution: Gresham College
- Speaker: Professor Victoria Baines
- Year: 2024
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Computer science, History, Philosophy
- Source: [Gresham College](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/prehistory-it)
- Licence: [Educational use (Gresham College's terms)](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/terms-and-conditions)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

What links an ancient shipwreck to the textile mills of Northern England? Both contained forerunners of the computing we use today. In fact, computer language and software have a long history, featuring military research and the repurposing of early programs widely used in manufacturing. This lecture delves into the earliest archives of processing, prediction, difference and analytical engines, to discover who really made them all work.

## Lectures

1. [The Ancient History of Computers and Code](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-prehistory-it/1f1c0b877b5b) (Audio)
2. [Messaging and Signals](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-prehistory-it/64e99580de16) (Audio)
3. [Who’s Afraid of Robots?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-prehistory-it/f44d3569b1f8) (Audio)
4. [Data: A Love Story for the Ages](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-prehistory-it/0d4f930f7c42) (Audio)
5. [How Surveillance Works](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-prehistory-it/c15704fd51e3) (YouTube)
6. [The Moral Case for Stealing Data](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-prehistory-it/1bf2632bf650) (Audio)