Spreadsheet software (1979-1983)
VisiCalc launched in 1979 as the first electronic spreadsheet, followed by Lotus 1-2-3 in 1983. The tools let non-programmers model finances and run complex calculations without writing code or waiting on a computer department.
Spreadsheets became the best-selling software category and made personal computers a business necessity.
They proved a durable pattern: software that lets non-engineers do expert work multiplies individual productivity.
Marc Andreessen invokes the spreadsheet as the direct precedent for AI agents—tools that let people without engineering backgrounds turn expertise into working software.
