The 1968 demo by Douglas Engelbart and the team at SRI was important not just because it introduced the mouse, video conferencing or hypertext. What really hit me is the way it put computers as more than just machines. Engelbart and his team showed a vision of technology as a partner and a co-creator for human brainstorming and collaboration. It felt less like a technical product but more like a presentation of the future, which made people realize computers could change how humans communicate and work together.
And also, I see a kind of irony in how things developed afterward. SRI imagined computers as tools for collective intelligence, but commercial profits narrowed that vision into personal productivity. I feel like a lot of products or services follow this same cycle. For example, social media began with the promise of “connecting people around the world,” but has developed more into a negative products that distract people, absorbs young adults’ attention, and can even be harmful to the youth. So I think Engelbart’s demo is still significant today. It was the starting point of modern computing and also a reminder to ask whether we are truly fulfilling the original vision, or just simply following the commercial market.
Grammar Confirmed by Chat GPT 5