“I'm a pessimist. But I think I'd describe my pessimism as broken-hearted optimism.”

American computer programmer and author

Ellen Ullman is an American computer programmer and author. She became widely known for her 1997 memoir, Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents. The book draws on her experience as a woman working in a male-dominated programming field at the start of the personal computer era. She later wrote novels, including The Bug and By Blood, both of which were named New York Times Notable Books. Ullman has also worked as a consultant to software companies and as a technology commentator for NPR's All Things Considered. Her writing often reflects on computing, work, and the culture around technology.