Everybody Wants to Be a Dev!
For a while now, an idea has been gaining traction: with artificial intelligence, anyone can build an app without knowing how to code. The promise is incredibly seductive: with just a few prompts, we
The Turing Machine
The Turing Machine
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Generative AI and Non-Determinism
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein We often hear that generative AI is non-deterministic because it responds differently each time to the same prompt. This
Duck Intelligence
If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it must understand like a duck. Some time ago, I had a brief debate with a YouTube user about using of the term "understanding" in reference to
Pythagoras the Digitizer
Imagine yourself in Crotone, around 530 BCE. There is no Internet, no Wi-Fi, no social networks, and no computers. The only way to spread an idea is to discuss it in an agora. And yet, in that corner of Magna Graecia, one man is laying the groundwork...
Does Artificial Intelligence Threaten Critical Thinking?
A phrase that resonates more and more frequently in public debate is: "Artificial intelligence will atrophy our minds, render critical thinking obsolete, and transform us into passive consumers of prepackaged content." It's a dystopian future where w...
Computer Science and Philosophy
I originally wanted to title this article “Computer Science Is Philosophy,” but I realized that was too much of a stretch, so instead of merging the two disciplines, I juxtaposed them. Still, I am convinced that some will turn their noses up at this ...
On the Nature of Generative AI Intelligence
It is amazing how today's Artificial Intelligence systems are able to do things we could not even imagine a few years ago: they answer our questions in our own language, they translate from one language to another much better than in the past, they r...
The Naming Problem
A famous quote by Phil Karlton reads, "There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things." Leaving aside cache invalidation, which we can return to another time, why should naming things be so hard? Giving names...
Information, Computers, and... Telescopes
If you're a software developer or IT technician, chances are you've had a friend, acquaintance, or relative ask for your advice on their next computer's features. They may also ask you for suggestions on how to fix a problem with their printer or an ...
Speaking about the Turing machine
Several years ago, when I enrolled in the graduate program in Computer Science in Pisa, I found a curious ad on the university bulletin board. Among the countless offers of houses for rent, bikes for sale, notes, and books in good condition, the ad r...