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The proper role of machinery in society has been debated throughout modern history. Philosophers, psychologists, educators, and artists wrote on the subject long before the advent of the modern computer. Early sources consider the very ideas of work, learning, knowledge, and visual understanding. Today, these sources give valuable context to modern studies, and continue to provide some of the most fundamental discussions of the issues.

Sources on the strictly modern computer interface are often traced to the pioneering work that was carried out at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s.