[OT] The problem with programming and how to fix it

[Richard Gaskin]

Mark Waddingham wrote:

 > However the reason google search can do that is because some
 > programmer at google has added a hook which knows that when that
 > pattern is searched for it should call a program that has been
 > explicitly written which looks up the current exchange rate and
 > then renders the result in a nicely formatted string which appears
 > at the top of the search results.

Amen.

Before anyone gets too worshipful about AI, it may be useful to consider:

1. "AI" is being bandied about for any software that has more than three 
nested "if"s. ;)  I'm exaggerating of course, but really, software is 
just software; some is more complex than others, some useful, some mere 
flourish, and none of it models human cognitive processes particularly well.


2. One motivation for normalizing the term "AI" is to minimize liability 
exposure for wealthy corporations who deploy complex software without 
adequate testing. "It has a mind of its own" is not an allowable defense 
with any other product, and continued deification of software under the 
"AI" label risks losing sight of that.


3. The state of the art suggests we're a long way from anything close to 
the Singularity:

Google Translate’s AI starts talking about the end of the world
<https://www.fudzilla.com/news/ai/46790-google-translate-s-ai-starts-talking-about-the-end-of-the-world>

:)

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com