A Prehistory of the Cloud

Archival Summary & Scope

**The Militarized Legacy of the Digital Cloud** challenges the popular perception of the digital cloud as ethereal and placeless, instead revealing its material reality in massive data centers and hidden infrastructure. Author Tung-Hui Hu traces the cloud's evolution from older networks like railroad tracks and Cold War bunkers, arguing it grafts digital technologies onto established systems of power and control. By examining its prehistory, Hu exposes the cloud's militarized origins and ideology, often obscured by cultural fantasies of security and participation, offering new tools for understanding our contemporary digital environment.