Colossus Book Cover
Quote from Financial Times
Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers
Kate Russell speaking to the BCS

Kate Russell presents Alan Turing, who, amongst his many innovations in the world of computer science, also had the vision to give us the basis of artificial intelligence.

 

 

Thomas H. Flowers, architect of Colossus
Thomas H. Flowers

Flowers was speaking in his quiet, modest way (writes Jack Copeland). He was telling me about the giant electronic computer he had built for codebreaking during the war. The story was riveting. “There should be a book about Colossus”, I suggested.“A book about Colossus...”, he said softly, almost disbelievingly. His computer's role in the Allied victory had been secret for so long. I began the search for the codebreakers who could provide the rest of the complex picture. People said “We can‘t talk about a lot of it—Official Secrets Act”. But then British Intelligence declassified a crucial wartime report: 500 pages of previously ultra-secret material. Suddenly doors opened and tongues loosened. More...