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  1. The AtlanticSamuel Arbesman5/3/164 min
    11 reads6 comments
    9.0
    The Atlantic
    11 reads
    9.0
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    • Pegeen
      Top reader of all time
      6 years ago

      I find magic enchanting but this article scared me. I don’t like the idea of computers taking over jobs. The whole automation of things seems cold and inhuman. I certainly see the benefits of technology but I also see it could possibly become a real problem.

      • jbuchana
        Scout
        6 years ago

        It feels to me that, eventually, almost all jobs will be performed by AI/robots. Production will be wonderfully efficient, but who will the products and services be used by? With no jobs, there will be no one with money to be customers. A Universal Basic Income (which I doubt will ever happen in the US) might help with this a little, but not enough to keep the economy running. We're headed for disaster in so many ways at once.

    • jbuchana
      Scout
      6 years ago

      if you simply write the correct words, then you can do anything you want, in the manner of a magic spell

      Nice reference to Neal Stephenson's “In the Beginning was the Command Line”

      Another fictional comparison of coding to literal magic is Rick Cook’s series including, “The Wizardry Compiled”, where a programmer is transported to a world of magic and discovers that his skills transfer well to those of a magician. He even creates a compiler that allows far more complex magic to be done with far less effort, much as a high-level language is easier to code in than assembly.

      • vunderkind6 years ago

        UGH I NEED TO GET ON THAT SERIES.

    • deephdave
      Top reader this weekTop reader of all timeScout
      6 years ago

      Nowadays, developers coding and building no-code tools which have been bringing a revolution to those who don't know how to code and make things on their own.

    • vunderkind6 years ago

      My search on the internet started with deconstructing the difference between an interface and its implementation along various data structures, and ultimately I landed on this.

      Designed to be appreciated by laymen like me, it is an ode to code.