Gallery: Inside the Classroom Where San Quentin Inmates Learn to Code

  • Image may contain Human Person Furniture Chair Electronics Pc Computer and Laptop
    Cait Oppermann
    01

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1283.jpg

    At San Quentin State Prison in California, inmates are barred from using the internet, but a new project offers a chance for them to take part in the tech tranformations they might otherwise have missed.
  • Image may contain Furniture Chair Human Person Sitting Footwear Shoe Clothing and Apparel
    Cait Oppermann
    02

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1287.jpg

    The Last Mile Works is a full-fledged web development shop where inmates help build apps and other software for everyone from tiny startups to established companies like Airbnb.
  • Image may contain Human Person Furniture Electronics Computer Monitor Display Screen Lcd Screen Footwear and Shoe
    Cait Oppermann
    03

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1306.jpg

    The men in the program make $16.77 an hour—not much by Silicon Valley standards. But the real goal is to help them land jobs once they’re out.
  • Image may contain Human Person Electronics Monitor Display Screen Lcd Screen Computer Pc and Mahershala Ali
    Cait Oppermann
    04

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1445.jpg

    San Quentin’s dev shop is the brainchild of Chris Redlitz, a venture capitalist who founded the Last Mile as a nonprofit in 2010 to offer inmates entrepreneurial training.
  • Image may contain Human Person Electronics Computer Hardware Computer Keyboard Hardware Keyboard Computer and Finger
    Cait Oppermann
    05

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1463.jpg

    Working with the coding school Hack ­Reactor, Redlitz spun up a tech incubator inside the prison called Code.7370 (after the government classification number for software companies).
  • Image may contain Helmet Clothing Apparel Human Person Electronics Headphones and Headset
    Cait Oppermann
    06

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1501.jpg

    Inmates learn Java­Script, Python, and WordPress before presenting their portfolios at a Demo Day. By year’s end, the program will be active in three additional prisons.
  • Image may contain Human Person Furniture Chair Indoors Electronics Computer Keyboard Computer Hardware and Hardware
    Cait Oppermann
    07

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1549.jpg

    The Last Mile Works gives Code.7370 grads a way to get real-world experience on the inside.
  • CaitOppermann20160907WIREDSanQuentin1305work.jpg
    Cait Oppermann
    08

    SanQuinten.jpg

    Because they can’t use the Internet, the dev shop’s coders work on a closed network, and a manager pushes the results to the outside. Any money the shop makes is funneled back into the nonprofit.
  • Image may contain Mailbox and Letterbox
    Cait Oppermann
    09

    CaitOppermann-2016-09-07-WIRED-SanQuentin-1595.jpg

    The door leading to the classroom where inmates learn to code.
Read More
OpenAI Engineer Accused of Spying on Executives Ordered to Remain in Custody
A judge ordered Abdulrahman Alfozan to remain in custody, likening the Saudi government’s offer to secure the former OpenAI engineer’s release to a “blank check.”
Paresh Dave
What the US Movement Against Data Centers Can Learn From Everywhere Else
Paris Marx, author of Hyperscale, has been tracking global data center development for years. The US has a lot to learn from what’s happened everywhere from Ireland to New Zealand.
Molly Taft
Can This High-Tech Lockbox Keep Your Holiday Gifts Safe?
Hyve’s smart porch lockbox can secure incoming gifts—if your delivery driver uses it and there’s still room inside.
Christopher Null
Trump Administration Cuts Off Access to a Major Immigration Program for Workers at Microsoft and Adobe
“There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft,” Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday.
Kate Taylor
Bluesky Is Blocking Links to a Major Leak of DHS Employee Records
Bluesky tells WIRED it blocked links to a leaked archive of information on 41,000 ICE, CBP, and other DHS workers because it contains people’s contact information, shared without their authorization.
Dhruv Mehrotra
Data Centers Have a New PR Plan: Your Kid’s Field Trip
Amid a wave of backlash, some industry-friendly groups are employing creative and time-tested strategies to woo the youth.
Caroline Haskins
Tristan Harris’ Tech Nonprofit Is Laying Off Most Staff and Going ‘Founder-Led’
The Center for Humane Technology helped spark a movement against excessive screen time, but internal tensions over its direction and strategy have simmered for years, sources tell WIRED.
Paresh Dave
Mistral Says Its AI Model ‘Le Chonk’ Has Leapfrogged China in the Open-Weight Race
The French AI lab claims its latest release matches or outperforms even the best models from DeepSeek and Z.ai in coding and cybersecurity.
Joel Khalili
A Startup Has a Plan to Make Water From Air Using Data Centers’ Waste Heat
Atoco’s new machines use specialized materials that can harvest water from some of the driest air on Earth without using electricity.
Brian Kahn
Encryption Is Getting Squeezed From All Sides
Canada’s planned surveillance law is the latest grim step in a series of threats to encryption that are spreading around the world.
Matt Burgess
The Pentagon Hopes to Speed Up ‘Kill Chain’ AI Buys With 5-Minute Videos
The US government’s Tradewinds initiative has made it easier to throw millions of dollars at “nontraditional” defense contractors, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
Maddy Varner
How Apple Puts Indigenous Languages on the iPhone Keyboard
To save endangered languages, tech companies like Apple are working with Indigenous communities to meet the next generation where they type.
Julian Chokkattu