I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you.

Well, not that shocked.

We live in a world full of surprises. Every day, there's something new and revolutionary that seems to come out of nowhere. But when we take a moment to step back, to trace the steps that led us to this point, we often find that these 'surprises' were a long time in the making.

Today, we're going to embark on a journey from ancient wonders to modern marvels, taking a look at the history of computation and AI. We'll start with the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient Greek device for astronomical predictions, travel through time to meet pioneers like Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, and then dive into the more recent past with the birth of IBM and the advent of the Digital Revolution. Our journey will culminate in the present day, with the generative AI explosion of 2023. In the immortal words of David Allen Grier:

Like to hear it? Here it go!

From Ancient Wonders to Modern Marvels

Just how far back does the history of computers go? You might be (actually) shocked to find out about a 2000 …