G Pascal Zachary
Biographic Data
| ID | 1232578 |
|---|---|
| NAME | G Pascal Zachary |
| GIVEN NAMES | G Pascal |
| FAMILY NAME | Zachary |
| SIGNATURE | ZACHARY G P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Historian, Hercules, CA, USA |
| ORCID | 0009-0008-4583-2122 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Is the AI “Revolution” the Latest Example of Technological Change Driving History
Warnings about the direction of “artificial intelligence” technologies come chiefly from either specialists in assessing risks and rewards of emerging technologies, or from the scientists, engineers, and corporate executives who build, test, and sell AI systems. These camps share a common aim: to captivate public imagination and galvanize support for broad acceptance of AI, while at the same time promoting responsible “guardrails” and greater tra…
Do Individuals Matter in the Shape and Direction of Technological Change
The “Novelty Imperative” and Its Discontents
This essay examines the proposition that the pursuit of novelty is a primary and independent causal factor in technological change. By examining the role of novelty historically, both internally within engineered artifacts and externally, in the built world that humans inhabit, the author argues that when the pursuit of novelty merges with a resurgence in previously discarded or outdated tools and processes, it can challenge and even overturn com…
On Caring About What We Pretend to Be
This essay argues for the value of theoretical perspectives in making sense (and building coherent models) of technological change. Lacking models for explanatory frameworks for the rise, spread, and persistence of technological systems has hampered actors, analysts, and policymakers in the past. The author surveys a range of explanatory options for technological change as such, drawing on the historical literature. While not proposing a unified …
Chasing Automation
Reviewed by: Chasing Automation: The Politics of Technology and Jobs from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Society by Jerry Prout G. Pascal Zachary (bio) Chasing Automation: The Politics of Technology and Jobs from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Society By Jerry Prout. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2022. Pp. 275. Jerry Prout provides a valuable account of the policy debates and political tensions over technological unemployment …
Creating a U.S. National Journalism Foundation [Commentary]
It is time now to move beyond handwringing and nostalgia over our vanished American journalism past. While market forces will sustain some forms of serious reportage, evidence is mounting that creators of journalism in the public interest can’t innovate their way out of a deepening technological crisis. From the new frontiers of digital media to the decaying world of print newspapers to the diminished aspirations of once-mighty magazines, market …
Situating science in Africa
Since the turn of the century, both Kampala and Nairobi have experienced a dramatic growth of computer science research, challenging accepted views of science in Africa. We deploy qualitative methods to follow active computer science researchers, graduate students, policy makers, administrators and entrepreneurs, in order to understand how computer science is enacted in these two cities. Our analysis focuses on four interrelated areas of labor, i…
The Rise of Computing Research in East Africa
Ethics for a Very Small World
Give Hope a Headline
Letter from Magdeburg
If you think Germany is one country, you're wrong. In many ways, it's still two—and its eastern half is plagued with social and economic problems that don't seem to be getting better
Letter from Ireland
What happens when one of the world's great cultures begins to experience diversification? The recent influx of immigrants into Ireland in the midst of its economic upswing has remarkable implications for a previously homogenous state
Endless Frontier
Hellions of the Deep
Reviewed by: Hellions of the Deep: The Development of American Torpedoes in WWII * G. Pascal Zachary (bio) Hellions of the Deep: The Development of American Torpedoes in WWII. By Robert Gannon. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996. Pp. xiv+241; illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography, index. $28.50. Robert Gannon, an associate professor of English at Pennsylvania State University, has produced a valuable case study o…
Hellions of the Deep
Beyond the limits
No abstract available
The Rise of Computing Research in East Africa
Situating science in Africa
Since the turn of the century, both Kampala and Nairobi have experienced a dramatic growth of computer science research, challenging accepted views of science in Africa. We deploy qualitative methods to follow active computer science researchers, graduate students, policy makers, administrators and entrepreneurs, in order to understand how computer science is enacted in these two cities. Our analysis focuses on four interrelated areas of labor, i…
Beyond the limits
No abstract available
Endless Frontier
Hellions of the Deep
Reviewed by: Hellions of the Deep: The Development of American Torpedoes in WWII * G. Pascal Zachary (bio) Hellions of the Deep: The Development of American Torpedoes in WWII. By Robert Gannon. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996. Pp. xiv+241; illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography, index. $28.50. Robert Gannon, an associate professor of English at Pennsylvania State University, has produced a valuable case study o…
Hellions of the Deep
Letter from Magdeburg
If you think Germany is one country, you're wrong. In many ways, it's still two—and its eastern half is plagued with social and economic problems that don't seem to be getting better
Letter from Ireland
What happens when one of the world's great cultures begins to experience diversification? The recent influx of immigrants into Ireland in the midst of its economic upswing has remarkable implications for a previously homogenous state
Give Hope a Headline
Ethics for a Very Small World
The Rise of Computing Research in East Africa
Situating science in Africa
Since the turn of the century, both Kampala and Nairobi have experienced a dramatic growth of computer science research, challenging accepted views of science in Africa. We deploy qualitative methods to follow active computer science researchers, graduate students, policy makers, administrators and entrepreneurs, in order to understand how computer science is enacted in these two cities. Our analysis focuses on four interrelated areas of labor, i…
Creating a U.S. National Journalism Foundation [Commentary]
It is time now to move beyond handwringing and nostalgia over our vanished American journalism past. While market forces will sustain some forms of serious reportage, evidence is mounting that creators of journalism in the public interest can’t innovate their way out of a deepening technological crisis. From the new frontiers of digital media to the decaying world of print newspapers to the diminished aspirations of once-mighty magazines, market …
Chasing Automation
Reviewed by: Chasing Automation: The Politics of Technology and Jobs from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Society by Jerry Prout G. Pascal Zachary (bio) Chasing Automation: The Politics of Technology and Jobs from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Society By Jerry Prout. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2022. Pp. 275. Jerry Prout provides a valuable account of the policy debates and political tensions over technological unemployment …
On Caring About What We Pretend to Be
This essay argues for the value of theoretical perspectives in making sense (and building coherent models) of technological change. Lacking models for explanatory frameworks for the rise, spread, and persistence of technological systems has hampered actors, analysts, and policymakers in the past. The author surveys a range of explanatory options for technological change as such, drawing on the historical literature. While not proposing a unified …
Do Individuals Matter in the Shape and Direction of Technological Change
The “Novelty Imperative” and Its Discontents
This essay examines the proposition that the pursuit of novelty is a primary and independent causal factor in technological change. By examining the role of novelty historically, both internally within engineered artifacts and externally, in the built world that humans inhabit, the author argues that when the pursuit of novelty merges with a resurgence in previously discarded or outdated tools and processes, it can challenge and even overturn com…
Is the AI “Revolution” the Latest Example of Technological Change Driving History
Warnings about the direction of “artificial intelligence” technologies come chiefly from either specialists in assessing risks and rewards of emerging technologies, or from the scientists, engineers, and corporate executives who build, test, and sell AI systems. These camps share a common aim: to captivate public imagination and galvanize support for broad acceptance of AI, while at the same time promoting responsible “guardrails” and greater tra…
Political science (10 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · History of Computing Technologies (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Archaeology (3 works) · Engineering (3 works) · History (3 works) · Political economy (3 works) · Politics (3 works)