From Babbage to Turing: the roots of AI.

In this first episode of Season 7, Donald Clark and John Helmer trace the roots of modern computing and AI through six foundational figures—Babbage, Lovelace, Hollerith, Bush, Newman & Flowers, and Turing. Exploring their machines, insights, and visionary ideas, they uncover surprising links between early data technologies and the digital learning landscape of today. Expect Steampunk vibes, deep dives, and a speculative look at how history shaped learning innovation.

• 00:01:54 – Intro
• 00:02:58 – Donald & John catch up – Donald’s new tattoo
• 00:05:42 – Introducing Roots of AI: Early Computing
• 00:13:41 – Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
• 00:24:14 – Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
• 00:36:31 – Herman Hollerith (1860-1929)
• 00:50:43 – Vannevar Bush (1890 – 1974)
• 01:02:50 – Maxwell Newman (1897-1984) & Thomas Flowers (1905-1988)
• 01:10:25 – Alan Turing (1912-1954)
• 01:28:20 – Summing up

Great Minds on Learning comes from the Learning Hack team and is produced by John Helmer. The podcast is based on a series of blog posts written by Donald Clark, who kindly collaborates on this project.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

The Blog that started it all: https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html Contact Donald

• X: @DonaldClark
• Blog: http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/