Reading the internet-history mailing list archives, found this post from 19 April 2026 (two months ago)
J.C.R. Licklider, often called the "Computing's Johnny Appleseed," didn't
just view electronic mail as a digital version of a post office. In his
seminal 1968 paper, *"The Computer as a Communication Device"* (co-authored
with Robert Taylor), he envisioned a future where email was the backbone of
collaborative intelligence.
Licklider’s scenarios for electronic mail weren't just about moving text;
they were about *distributed thinking.* Here are the key scenarios and
concepts he outlined:
------------------------------
1. The "OLIVER" (Automated Digital Assistants)
One of Licklider’s most prophetic scenarios involved what he called the
*OLIVER* (*On-Line Interactive Vicarious Expediter and Responder*).
-
*The Scenario:* He imagined a personalized program that would reside in
the network to handle your mail.
-
*The Function:* The OLIVER would screen incoming messages, reply to
routine inquiries on your behalf, and prioritize important data. This is
essentially the 1960s vision of *AI-driven inbox management* and
automated responders.
2. Communities of Common Interest
Licklider predicted that electronic mail would destroy the tyranny of
geography.
-
*The Scenario:* He argued that people would no longer be grouped by
where they lived, but by what they cared about.
-
*The Impact:* He foresaw "online interactive communities" where
specialists across the globe could exchange ideas instantly. To Licklider,
email was the "glue" that would hold these non-geographic communities
together.
3. Collaborative "Modeling"
For Licklider, communication wasn't just sending a message; it was about
*cooperation.*
-
*The Scenario:* He envisioned two researchers using the network to work
on a shared "model" (data or a simulation).
-
*The Function:* Email and network messaging would allow people to send
not just words, but executable programs and data sets. One person could
"mail" a piece of code, and the receiver could run it immediately to see
the sender’s logic.
4. Asynchronous Problem Solving
He recognized that human schedules are messy.
-
*The Scenario:* Licklider saw electronic mail as a way to facilitate
"interpersonal communication" without requiring both parties to be present
at the same time.
-
*The Value:* This would allow for a "more thoughtful and
better-documented" exchange than a telephone call, as users could take time
to research a response before sending it back through the system.
5. The "Information Utility"
Licklider compared the future of electronic communication to a public
utility, like electricity or water.
-
*The Scenario:* He imagined a world where everyone—not just
scientists—had a terminal at home.
-
*The Daily Use:* People would use the "mail" system to check bank
balances, schedule appointments, and engage in "the creative process" of
social interaction.
------------------------------
Summary of Licklider’s Vision
*Feature* *Licklider's Prediction* *Modern Equivalent*
*Medium* "The message is the model" Shared Google Docs / GitHub
*Agent* The OLIVER AI Assistants (Copilot, Gemini)
*Geography* "Communities of interest" Subreddits / Discord / Slack
*Speed* "Interactive but asynchronous" Modern Email / Threaded messaging
"In a few years, men will be able to communicate more effectively through a
machine than face to face."
— *J.C.R. Licklider, 1968*
Licklider’s genius was realizing that the computer wasn't a "giant brain"
meant for calculating trajectories, but a *medium* meant for connecting
human minds.
This one in particular:
The Scenario: He envisioned two researchers using the network to work on a shared “model” (data or a simulation).
The Function: Email and network messaging would allow people to send not just words, but executable programs and data sets. One person could “mail” a piece of code, and the receiver could run it immediately to see the sender’s logic.
is what I’ve been trying to express here, as a desirable goal, in a few posts in the last year. Along with my frustration that this goal is blocked right now by a widespread acceptance of massively insecure virtual machines / languages (Python being one of the worst of them). Leading to a weird situation where office workers now are being trained never to click on even a spreadsheet in an email in case it has code inside it - while data scientists in the same organization download raw binaries from untrusted repositories and YOLO them right into the corporate servers. I’m glad to see I’m not completely out of the ballpark in my belief that “safe shareable code” is a thing that computer networks ought to have.
