In 2010, the billionaire Marc Andreessen argued the case that “Software is eating the world” and kicked off an investment frenzy which directly led to the increased dominance of software in all of our lives.
Whether it’s through our smartphones, our television, our dishwashers, our central heating – software is everywhere.
People Matter
But what about the people who build and maintain this software? What happens when something goes badly wrong? Who is responsible and who is on the end of the phone?
Human Software follows the lives of people pushed to breaking point by the realities of work and financial survival against a backdrop of global uncertainty and greed.
Themes
In the 21st century, can our human systems cope with the demands of our software systems?
Touching on themes of globalisation, rationalising change, building community and the impact of burnout and mental health in the workplace. Exploring the disconnect between the ideals of modern software development and the human realities of building and maintaining complex systems.
The blog
- Development Complete
I’ve just sent the final chapters of my debut novel Human Software over to my editor. I’m aiming for publication in September ’25. I like to describe “Human Software” as “The Phoenix Project but A Bit More Evil”. I love the Phoenix Project; it’s one of my favourite books, and it inspired me to write… Development Complete - Game Developers Get the AI Jitters
A fascinating article in Wired into the continued and deepening backlash against generative AI in the creative industries. In particular, in game development, film and media, art, writing, and also of course bespoke, professional software development in any industry. The continued push by Microsoft and OpenAI and Amazon and Meta and everyone else with deep… Game Developers Get the AI Jitters - Excerpt: Chapter 5 – The Burn Out
He’s still in bed. She’s up and dressed and has been working on her hair and makeup for the last twenty minutes. He’s trying not to be annoyed by the hour, the disturbed sleep and the noise of the hairdryer but he’s failing. Despite himself, he whines: “So why do you have to go in… Excerpt: Chapter 5 – The Burn Out - Why Keep on Building the Same Software Over and Over?
As Marc Anderssen famously wrote, “Software is Eating the World” just before he set light to it with his venture capital ideas. Since then he has doubled down on his pro-progress and I would say rather anti-humane Techno-Optimist Manifesto. The productization of software development is a journey lasting many decades. Since DevOps, Agile, CI/CD coupled… Why Keep on Building the Same Software Over and Over? - Running Out of Ideas
Sometimes you need to step outside of your head for a few minutes in order to appreciate the position that you’re in. When you’re writing a book, it’s essential to stop and take stock and see how the work seems from a variety of angles. One way of gaining perspective that I’ve found very useful… Running Out of Ideas - Accepting the Inevitable
It has been a steady couple of weeks for Human Software. While I’ve not been exactly sitting around wondering, I’ve not made stellar progress I feel. Instead I’ve been researching, I’ve been plotting, I’ve been thinking. Sometimes life and (more importantly) paid work get in the way. Sometimes you just have to take the blows… Accepting the Inevitable