УДК 303.025
THE BECOMING OF PERSONAL COMPUTER AS ACTOR IN USA IN 1970S
Tikhon K. Ermakov1, Ksenia V. Reznikova2
1 orcid.org/0000-0002-6967-8720, erm-tihon@mail.ru
2 orcid.org/0000-0003-0889-4582, kreznikova@sfu-kras.ru
Abstract. Computer technologies play a significant role in the life of modern society. Research into the patterns of their development and the mechanisms of their integration into society, the formation of various cultural and social practices that make it possible to build interactions between a device and a person are extremely important and necessary for understanding both modern processes and the culture and art of the 20th century. This article attempts to create a foundation for such research, through consideration of a specific artifact by the method of actor-network theory, which makes it possible to trace the complex relationships that arise between an artifact and a person, to determine the mechanisms of their alignment.
The very concept of “becoming an actor” implies a view of a device as an actor in potency, that is, an artifact that already exists, but is not yet included in the network. It is actively “mastered” by other network participants who seek to determine which actions can be delegated to a new network participant. It is this state of the personal computer that is the subject of research in this article since it most clearly manifests the potential of the device as an actor.
As a result of the work done, a general understanding of the specifics of the Apple II personal computer as an actor, which is in the United States of the 1970s, is formed. Based on the data obtained, several of the most striking features can be distinguished:
1. The personal computer is a specific actor, the definition of which “slips away” all the time, new actors-plugins come in its place;
2. A personal computer as an actor is determined by the interaction of three levels (hardware, software, and social), which determine its capabilities;
3. Video games play an important role in the formation of the computer as an actor
Keywords: Actor-network theory, personal computer, Apple II, actor
For citation: Ермаков, Т. К. Становление персонального компьютера как актора в США 1970-х годов / Т. К. Ермаков, К. В. Резникова // Социальная антропология Сибири. – 2020. – Т. 1, № 3. – С. 26-36. – DOI 10.31804/2687-0606-2020-1-3-26-36. – EDN WSVYEH.
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