As We May Think ble trykket første gang i 1945, og representerte det første godt kjente forslaget til en maskin eller et system som kunne systematisere informasjon. Bush foreslo først og fremst at det skulle brukes til å gjøre det enklere å holde seg oppdatert om forskining:

Those who conscientiously attempt to keep abreast of current thought, even in restricted fields, by close and continuous reading might well shy away from an examination calculated to show how much of the previous month's efforts could be produced on call. Mendel's concept of the laws of genetics was lost to the world for a generation because his publication did not reach the few who were capable of grasping and extending it; and this sort of catastrophe is undoubtedly being repeated all about us, as truly significant attainments become lost in the mass of the inconsequential.