A Prehistory of the Cloud

**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.

Archival Categorization Notes

This literature has been indexed under the primary pillar of Technology. It was manually vetted for the Read For Truth database because it provides educational insights into Hardware, assisting researchers in locating established secondary research within this specific taxonomy.