January’s Communications of the ACM includes an essay predicting “the end of programming,” in an AI-powered future where “programming will be obsolete.” But IT analyst and ZDNet contributor Joe McKendrick remains skeptical, judging by a new essay sardonically titled “It’s the end of programming as we know it — again.” Read more…
Nearly 10,000 years ago, humans settling in the Fertile Crescent, the areas of the Middle East surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, made the first switch from hunter-gatherers to farmers. They developed close bonds with the rodent-eating cats that conveniently served as ancient pest-control in society’s first civilizations. A new Read more…
If humankind detects a message from an advanced civilisation, “It would be a transformative event for humankind,” writes the Guardian, “one the world’s nations are surely prepared for. “Or are they?” “Look at the mess we made when Covid hit. We’d be like headless chickens,” says Dr John Elliott, a Read more…
Computers become increasingly capable and powerful by the year and new hardware is often the most visible cue for technological progress. However, even with the shiniest hardware, the software that plays a critical role inside many systems is too often antiquated, and in some cases decades old. This failing appears Read more…
Matt Welsh is the CEO and co-founder of Fixie.ai, an AI-powered software delivery company founded by a team from Google and Apple. “I believe the conventional idea of ‘writing a program’ is headed for extinction,” he opines in January’s Communications of the ACM, “and indeed, for all but very specialized Read more…
Looking back at 2022’s technology, the lead technology writer for the New York Times criticized Meta’s $1,500 VR headset and the iPhone’s “mostly unnoticeable improvements.” But then he also predicted which new tech could affect you in 2023. – It’s very likely that next year you could have a chatbot Read more…
“Imagine starting your work day with a fresh coconut juice perched by your laptop as you gaze over the ocean or a tropical rainforest….” writes the Conversation. “More than 40 nations or territories now offer “digital nomad” visas to attract those able to be employed in one country while living, Read more…