When I post something like this, there are several predictable responses:
1) Some guys will proclaim it to be "AI slop", and will criticize me for even posting it.
2) Some guys will just declare that I am "getting old" (as if they are not) and will assume that at my age, I just somehow can't understand these new machines (as if they can!).
3) Many more sensible guys will put aside their feelings about AI and my age, and -- perhaps giving the devil his due -- be amazed by the complexity of these machines.
I think it is pretty amazing.
What do you guys think?
My comment will satisfy all three of your expectations.
ReplyDeleteI've spent most of my adult life working around and with computers. From the early days of the Timex Sinclair, Atari, Commodore, and others. Wang, anyone? Green screens? And "hard drives" the size of a washing machine. Fast-forward to 2026 and the jump in technology we've had since the late '70s and early '80s is something that no one readily contemplated. The advancements are STAGGERING, and there are many positive results of this. The "good ole days" seems pretty attractive until you need a heart ablation, or want to make an airline reservation, or need to call a family member on the other side of the country. In medical science alone, the technological advancements are saving lives. So -- yes -- putting aside my age and feelings about modern computing -- the complexity and capabilities of these machines is jaw-dropping. That satisfies your #2 and #3 expectations.
But now for your #1 expectation. This AI-rendered video is slick, but a bit sloppy. It doesn't really explain "AI" -- rather, it focuses on the underlying hardware. And listening to AI pat itself on the back is a bit creepy. But, as mentioned above -- I'm getting old and there's no getting over that.
73 - Steve, KW4H
Thanks Steve. It is good to hear from someone who has a foot in both camps (the computer world and the boatanchor world). One thing I was trying to get at in an earlier post was that the skills involved kind of give the words "I designed it" very different meanings. In the boatanchor sense, Helge LA6NCA can with confidence say "I designed it" and we know what he means. But the fellow who "designed" his own microprocessor... I don't know. I just see them as being two very different areas of endeavor. You can be good at one and not good at the other, right? 73 Bill N2CQR
ReplyDeleteAs Samuel Morse said in 1884, "What hath God wrought?"
ReplyDelete--Walter KA4KXX