How to make a computer program 2016 how to#

If it keeps misclassifying foxes as cats, you don’t rewrite the code. You simply show it thousands and thousands of photos of cats, and eventually it works things out. If you want to teach a neural network to recognize a cat, for instance, you don’t tell it to look for whiskers, ears, fur, and eyes. Writing in Wired, Jason Tanz predicts that the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning means that soon we won’t program computers we will “train” them. The third story suggests that the fuss about programming may be short-lived. Programming Computers → Training Computers I’ve already written about how this may be especially true in health care. There may be a shortage of people who can program well, but I’m willing to bet that there is a far greater shortage of people with the analytical skills to truly get to the bottom of problems. His key point is that the crucial skill is understanding the problem, especially since programming methods and languages can change rapidly. As he says, “I would no more urge everyone to lean to program than I would urge everyone to learn to plumb” (alas, yet another skill I never acquired). He concedes that programming skills are important, but not for everyone. Farag’s message is more nuanced than that. At first blush, it would seem to be giving the opposite message that the Mover Kit and Infinite Arcade are promoting.

The second piece was an op-ed in TechCrunch by Basel Farag, Please Don’t Learn to Code.

How to make a computer program 2016 how to#

Getting kids to learn how to program while they think they are having fun sure seems like a good one. They are realizing that they need new strategies to attract this talent. It encourages kids to learn by doing what they do best - being active and playing!” TinyBop’s Infinite Arcade uses a similar approach, letting kids design and build their own video games.ĬIOs are wailing about the shortage of IT talent, calling it an “existential threat”to their companies’ futures. Image from Mover Kit’s Kickstarter campaignĪs they describe it, “The Mover Kit is an intuitive way for kids ages 8 and over to learn the fundamentals of electronics, programming, and solve problems creatively.