The National Security Agency (NSA) has released a historic lecture by Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, a pioneering figure in computer science. The lecture, titled “Future Possibilities: Data, Hardware, Software, and People,” was initially delivered in 1982 and is now available on YouTube. Hopper, often called the “mother of computing,” served in the U.S. Navy for over 40 years and significantly contributed to developing early computers and programming languages.
In her lecture, she discussed relevant topics, such as the exponential growth of data and the increasing demand for instant access to information. “The amount of data and the amount of information will continue to increase, and it’s more than linear. The demand for instant access to information will also increase,” Hopper stated, highlighting the inherent conflict between data growth and the need for instant access, which continues to be a major challenge in the digital age. There is also a second video from Rear Admiral Grace Hopper on YouTube.
Hopper also shared the famous story of the first computer bug, a term she helped popularize.
Grace Hopper’s historic lecture released
In 1945, while working on the Mark II computer, her team discovered a moth causing a relay failure, which they documented in their logbook.
On cybersecurity, Hopper warned about the inadequacies in government and industry practices, emphasizing the need to protect valuable information against fraud and theft. Rear Admiral Hopper shared a compelling story about a security breach at Canada Cement, where four 12-year-old boys infiltrated the company’s computer system, prompting her to suggest employing young talent for national cybersecurity efforts rather than punishing them. The release of Hopper’s lecture was made possible through a collaborative effort between the NSA and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Initially, the NSA claimed that the requested materials did not exist or were inaccessible due to outdated technologies. However, after acknowledging the footage’s existence and public interest, the agency sought assistance from NARA’s Special Media Department, which successfully retrieved the lecture from two Apex Tapes and transferred it to the NSA for review and public release. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper’s lecture is a valuable resource for those interested in the history of computers and the insights of a pioneering figure in the field.
The lecture’s release underscores the importance of preserving and making accessible the works of computing pioneers like Hopper.
