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“Vivid world-building and well-rounded characters. I found myself completely hooked.”

RUSSELL MCLEAN, Emmy and BAFTA award-winning Producer of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

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Human Software: A Life in IT by Richard W. Bown

“Absolutely gripping! A must-read”

LOVDEEP PANNU, at Epicenter

“Could not be more of the moment. A proper page turner, part thriller, part whodunnit and a fine dystopian parable”

CHARLES HUMBLE, Tech consultant & Journalist at Conissaunce

A US shipping multinational bets big on AI and data centres, but when it sends an ambitious executive to its UK branch to downsize, things don’t go according to plan.

HUMAN SOFTWARE follows the stories of two very different women working in tech, set against a backdrop of global uncertainty and corporate greed.

BETH works as a software engineer in Kent, UK. When CHRISSIE, a new executive, is sent over to carry out a savage restructuring, things don’t go smoothly.

SOFTWARE RUNS THE WORLD..

In 2010, billionaire Marc Andreessen argued that “Software is eating the world” and kicked off an investment frenzy that directly led to the increased dominance of software in all of our lives. Whether it’s through our smartphones, televisions, dishwashers, or central heating systems, software is everywhere and controlled by a small group that essentially defines how we live our lives.

..BUT IT DOESN’T RULE OUR LIVES

But what about the people who build and maintain the software? What happens when lives are on the line? The consequences can be dire, as we’ve seen with in recent events such as the UK Post Office Horizon Scandal or the Boeing 737 Max. Who is responsible? Who is on the end of the phone?

Human Software: A Life in IT by Richard W. Bown

RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE

Set in the fictional town of Sandport in Kent, UK. HUMAN SOFTWARE is both a satire and an engagement with corporate culture. It explores how corporate IT and software engineering are often caught trying to solve competing business objectives, or pandering to different executives’ machinations, always playing catch-up to industry hype while always trying its best in the face of mounting pressure from users.

HUMAN SOFTWARE is the debut novel by Richard W. Bown. A three-decade survivor of corporate software engineering culture.

HUMAN SOFTWARE is a glimpse behind the curtain to a world where decisions often don’t make any sense, where individual careers are made and ruined in a moment, and yet where the systems have to keep working 24/7.

Themes

Exploring themes of globalisation, community and the impact of burnout in the workplace. It highlights the disconnect between the ideals of modern software systems and the human realities of building and maintaining them.

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