In an age where artificial intelligence and screens shape our thoughts, author Hilde Nagell takes the reader – and the audience – back to the early days of the internet. At that time, researchers, writers and entrepreneurs dreamed of what the new computer technology could become, and laid the foundation for the digital everyday life we have today.
Computer history is a recurring theme in the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology's lecture series, and the autumn semester opens with some of the most important milestones in Norwegian computer history. Nagell talks about how the research environment at Kjeller became a central part of the international collaboration that developed what later became the Internet. She also discusses the start-up of Norsk Data, which sprang from the same environment, and the groundbreaking programming language Simula, developed in close collaboration with the University of Oslo.
When the Internet was opened to the general public and accessible through the World Wide Web in the 1990s, Norway was also at the forefront. How was this transition experienced, and what ideals – and conflicts – characterized the early digital public sphere? These are all topics in Hilde Nagell's new book, and in this lecture.
Hilde Nagell (born 1970) is an advisor at the Agenda think tank and currently works at the environmental foundation Zero. She has a PhD in political science from the University of Oslo and has worked extensively with political philosophy. Nagell has previously published the book Digital Revolution (Res Publica, 2020).
Light refreshments in the museum's café from 16:00 for those who have pre-registered.
