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This chapter describes the central claims of the book. From a philosophical point of view, the book argues for an objective Bayesian interpretation of probability and an epistemic interpretation of causality, and claims that these offer a firm foundation for causal modelling. From the computational point of view, the book investigates the relationship between Bayesian nets and maximum entropy methods, and develops a general computational framework for probabilistic and causal reasoning.

This chapter gives a very brief introduction to computability emphasising concepts playing an important role here. The chapter describes how in the 1920s the interest of Alan Turing in describing in mathematical terms the activity of computers, clerks performing computations, led to the definition of an abstract device called a Turing machine, to the start the study of computability and to the enunciation of the Church-Turing thesis. In a similar way the chapter indicates how in 2000 the internal organization of eukariotic cells inspired Gheorghe Păun to define membrane systems, also called P systems, where ‘P’ stands for ‘Păun’. Moreover, the chapter explains some of the advantages offered by membrane computing, the field of research using membrane systems to define computability models in order to study computation and computational complexity issues and to model processes of biology, linguistics, economics, etc., with respect to more classical approaches.

This introductory chapter presents the book both as a study of English before English existed as a subject in its own right (comparable with what were known as ‘conjectural histories’ in the 18th century), and as an explanation of Shakespeare’s role in the origins of the subject. The method used will involve making analogies between modern and early modern cultural practices: terms such as ‘media studies’ and ‘creative writing’, and terms associated with the technology of computing will be transferred to earlier cultural contexts to establish some continuity between the modern subject of English and its earlier manifestations. At the same time and for the same purpose, the older study of rhetoric and the practices associated with it will be shown to persist in different forms within English Studies today.

This chapter examines the dominant role of government agencies in providing support for computing during the last four decades. By extending the discussion over three phases, the chapter enlarges the historical appreciation of the role of government in R&D for computing. This 50-year analysis also illustrates similarities in approach to selecting problems and funding R&D over the three phases. The changes discussed resulted both from sophistication within computing and from altered attitudes and circumstances in the society around the computing enterprise.

This chapter addresses the various issues raised in this book. It also identifies patterns of behavior and extracts lessons, finally situating the role of IT of the public sector into the broader experiences of modern American society. Topics discussed include the public sector as a galaxy of industries, how the digital hand changed the work of government and education, IT adoption patterns, and the role of the public sector as creator of today's economy.

One of the largest and most pervasive uses of computers by all governments across the American economy has been for accounting applications. While the fundamental missions and tasks have not changed over time, how the work of accounting, financial, and tax departments has been accomplished has. This chapter discusses the introduction and use of computing in tax filing, collections, and compliance. Topics covered include the Internal Revenue Service, state tax and financial applications, local government tax applications, and the adoption of software tools by tax preparers and payers.

This chapter discusses technologies adopted by the law enforcement community over a half century. Specifically, it looks at the use of computing by policing agencies, courts, and corrections, with a brief introduction to the early history of computer crime as it currently represents a new class of criminal activity made possible by the existence of the digital hand.

This chapter discusses the impact of IT on the work of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Bureau of the Census, and the US Postal Service (USPS). All three organizations extensively use information technology, in fact, to such an extent that it would be difficult to imagine how they could function in the future without its use. How each came to such a point reflects various experiences unique to each agency. The rate of adoption and extent of deployment reflects internal operational and managerial issues and as with other federal agencies and departments, digital tools had to be configured in ways specific to their needs.

This chapter discusses the deployment and use of information technology in public schools. Topics covered include computing in educational administration from the 1950s to 2000s, the use of computers in teaching from the 1960s to 1980s, debate about the role of computing in education, and the role of IT in education. It is argued that looking at the educational sector demonstrates some of the limits of the nation's transformation to a digitally rich economy. The technology had to enhance, then transform, how the daily core tasks of an industry are done. When that has not been the case, deployment has proved limited.

This chapter discusses the deployment and use of computing in higher education. Topics covered include administrative uses, teaching and computers, role of computing in academic research, IT in the library, personal use of computers, and special role of the Internet. It is shown that in addition to being a supplier of computer science and technology, the higher education industry trained (or educated) tens of millions of people, equipping many of them with the values, work practices, and skills that have defined the economy and society of modern America and, indeed, of many individuals and firms around the world. Its use of all manner of technology also reflects patterns of application evident in many parts of the nation's economy, including its use of the digital hand. Because it educates so many workers, and influences the values and activities of so many individuals, its use of computing is influential and important.

This introductory chapter discusses the development of Alan Turing's ‘universal computing machine’, better known as the universal Turing Machine. The earliest large-scale electronic digital computers, the British Colossus (1943) and American ENIAC (1945), did not store programmes in memory. In 1936, Turing came up with an idea for a machine with limitless memory, in which both data and instructions were to be stored. By 1945, groups in Britain and the US began developing hardware for a universal Turing machine. Turing headed a group at the National Physical Laboratory in London that designed the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), the first relatively complete specification of an electronic stored-programme digital computer.

In April 1945, the journal Nature announced that the National Physical Laboratory would ‘extend its activities by the establishment of a Mathematics Division’. The new Mathematics Division was intended to act as a ‘central mathematics station’ and was the first of the three main centres of early electronic computer development in Britain. The Division had two main functions: to undertake research into new computing methods and machines, and to provide computing services and advice to government departments and industry. It was soon providing a national computing service, and became a leading centre for numerical analysis. This chapter sets the stage for these developments in computing, focusing on the circumstances surrounding the creation of the NPL Mathematics Division. Four questions are addressed: why was a central mathematics station needed? Why was it established at the NPL? Why was John Womersley chosen as superintendent? And finally, to what extent did the NPL Mathematics Division succeed as a central mathematics station?

Artificial moral agents are necessary and inevitable. Innovative technologies are converging on sophisticated systems that will require some capacity for moral decision making. With the implementation of driverless trains, the “trolley cases” invented by ethicists to study moral dilemmas may represent actual challenges for artificial moral agents. Among the difficult tasks for designers of such systems is to specify what the goals should be, i.e. what is meant by a “good” artificial moral agent? Computer viruses are among the software agents that already cause harm. Credit card approval systems are among the examples of autonomous systems that already affect daily life in ethically significant ways but are “ethically blind” because they lack moral decision‐making capacities. Pervasive and ubiquitous computing, the introduction of service robots in the home to care for the elderly, and the deployment of machine‐gun‐carrying military robots expand the possibilities of software and robots without sensitivity to ethical considerations harming people.