Vannevar Bush’s Memex vision laid groundwork for hypertext and AI concerns
Back in the 1940s, American engineer Vannevar Bush pitched the “memex,” a desk-based device built on microfilm to store and link research documents. This was long before computers, internet, or AI.
The memex was designed to solve a major problem: researchers drowning in stacks of papers and clunky index cards. Bush wanted a way to link information through associative indexing, letting users jump between related documents with a keyboard click — a tech leap way ahead of its time. 
Bush wrote about his idea in a 1945 Atlantic essay, As We May Think, foreseeing a device that made researching smoother by chaining information trails. He pictured encyclopedias with associative trails, not far off from today’s Wikipedia.
His memex inspired tech pioneers like Ted Nelson and Douglas Engelbart in the 1960s, who built hypertext systems foundational to the modern web.
Bush also warned technology could veer off-course. In his 1970 book Pieces of the Action, he reflected:
"In 1945, I dreamed of machines that would think with us. Now, I see machines that think for us – or worse, control us."
Now, 80 years later, AI on smartphones puts Bush’s vision in every pocket. But his caution remains timely: will these machines enhance our creativity or make us reliant and lazy?
The core lesson: technology like the memex needs a human-centered purpose to truly boost thinking — not replace it.
Bush’s memex wasn’t just about easier research. It was a philosophical challenge to balance powerful tech with human creativity. That challenge hasn’t gone away.
