What We Can Learn from Margaret Hamilton and the Apollo 11 Mission

In the crucial moments of Apollo 11's lunar descent, as emergency alarms blared and time was running out, it was Margaret Hamilton's foresight in software design that helped prevent disaster. Hamilton, who famously refused to pour tea at Harvard and instead pursued a career in computing, had insisted on building systems that could gracefully handle errors and maintain human control even when things went wrong. Her experience programming alongside Edward Lorenz at MIT had taught her that complex systems inevitably encounter unexpected scenarios, and her approach to the Apollo Guidance Computer's software prioritized robust error handling and keeping astronauts in the loop rather than letting automation take complete control. This philosophy of anticipating and managing failure modes, while preserving human judgment in critical decisions, offers vital lessons for today's AI systems as they become increasingly integrated into high-stakes domains.