Lead Image © altitudevisual, 123RF.com
Artificial Intelligence in Review
Welcome
Back in the dark (pre-Internet) ages, when I attended college, I decided that I wanted to write a dating program using an artificial intelligence (AI) language called LISP. I never got very far because computer managers only allocated a tiny amount of resources for us to use, even for those days. Getting more was akin to passing an unfavorable law through Congress, so I backed off and decided to wait until computing power and resources caught up to my aspirations. I then started testing the Prolog AI language – Turbo Prolog, to be exact, now known as Visual Prolog. It wasn't possible to run code in this language on old systems (e.g., the almost affordable IBM XT Turbo and its various clones) because the computing power required to run AI programs was far beyond my financial reach.
It's funny how computer languages never die. I'm not aware of any that have. Enthusiasts still run DOS and CP/M, so I figure that someone somewhere will keep programming in the most primitive of languages well into the next century. I'm not one of those people. I left AI programming in the dark ages to those who could afford the computing resources to make it happen.
Fast forward to 2021 and the so-called "AI Revolution." The computing power needed to meet the needs of AI programs is now affordable. Purchasing a development system for <$1,000 is possible, and Visual Prolog is still available free of charge for the Personal Edition. Turbo Prolog and its ilk were known as Shareware in the days of 5.25-inch floppy disks, bulletin boards, and dial-up Internet access.
My point is that AI is behind the times compared with other technologies. Even all those years ago, I saw the potential for AI in solving chemical synthesis problems, medical diagnostics, and, yes, even dating programs. However, many see AI applications such as ChatGPT as enemies and threats to our existence. The problem with that thinking is that these applications only know and can use what we
...
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy ADMIN Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Related content
-
Is System Administration Bound for Extinction?
Writers and tech journalists have predicted for years that the system administrator role is an endangered species, with extinction just around the corner. Are they right?
-
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Human
For many years, I've written about the plight of sys admins, about our bottom-feeding status, and about how we love our jobs so much that we'll take abuses dished out by employers, colleagues, and users. The only refuge we have is the computer world that we govern. -
No Hands
As system administrators, we deal with a variety of issues, problems, and tasks that face us on a regular basis. Our managers ask us to solve problems with fewer staff. They ask us to "make do" with underpowered systems. -
Looking Backward, Looking Forward
Whatever IT challenges you face in 2025, will you meet them with anger, fear, and indifference – or will you go forward with interest, curiosity, and humility? -
The limits and opportunities of artificial intelligence
We talked to Peter Protzel, an academic with experience in knowledge-based systems and process automation, about the future of artificial intelligence.