# Computer Power and Human Reason by Joseph Weizenbaum

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/computer-power-and-human-reason/

3 people recommended Computer Power and Human Reason by Joseph Weizenbaum in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a still-relevant critique of AI and computing, with lessons that many readers find eye-opening when read today.

Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- AI critiques still hold up (1 comment in the sample): "The critiques of AI laid out it Computer power and human reason are mostly still valid." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49782016))
- Eye-opening to read today (1 comment in the sample): "Reading Weizenbaum today is eye opening" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46430509))
- Many powerful lessons inside (1 comment in the sample): "many powerful lessons in there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47711506))

## Other nonfiction books people recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg/): 38 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death/): 30 recommend, 5 mixed, 0 criticize
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation/): 21 recommend, 1 mixed, 11 criticize
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification/): 18 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Computer Power and Human Reason by Joseph Weizenbaum", https://hackerapproved.com/p/computer-power-and-human-reason/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.