#computer-scientist — Public Fediverse posts

Der Mann, der Ihr Smartphone erdacht hat

Tippen Sie gerade auf einem Smartphone? Wischen Sie durch ein Menü mit Icons? Nutzen Sie eine Maus? Dann arbeiten Sie mit Ideen, die ein Mann vor über 50 Jahren skizziert hat. Damals noch auf Papier – für einen Computer, den es noch gar nicht gab.

Alan Kay wird 86 – ein Visionär, dessen Ideen unseren Alltag prägen

Am 17. Mai 2026 feiert Alan Curtis Kay seinen 86. Geburtstag. Der US-amerikanische Informatiker gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Vordenker der Computergeschichte – und ist dennoch dem breiten Publikum weit weniger bekannt als seine Ideen. Ein guter Anlass, ihn und sein Werk zu entdecken. 

Wer ist Alan Kay?

Alan Curtis Kay wurde am 17. Mai 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts, geboren als Sohn eines australischen Prothesenbauers und einer US-amerikanischen Musikerin. Diese ungewöhnliche Mischung aus Naturwissenschaft und Kunst sollte sein gesamtes Denken prägen. Kay war nicht nur Informatiker: Im Laufe seines Lebens arbeitete er als professioneller Jazzgitarrist, Komponist, Theatergestalter und klassischer Organist – ein Denker mit Künstlerseele.

Er studierte Mathematik, Molekularbiologie und schließlich Informatik an der University of Utah, wo er mit Ivan Sutherland – dem Pionier der Computergrafik – zusammenarbeitete. 1969 promovierte er mit einer Dissertation über ein von ihm entwickeltes Konzept/System namens FLEX, ein früher Vorläufer dessen, was später als Personal Computer die Welt verändern sollte.[1]

Das Dynabook – das Tablet, das seiner Zeit 40 Jahre voraus war

1968 hatte Kay eine Vision, die ihn nicht mehr losließ: ein flacher, tragbarer Computer, leicht genug für ein Kind, mit dem man lesen, schreiben, rechnen und programmieren konnte. Er nannte es das Dynabook. Gebaut wurde es nie, aber Jahrzehnte später hielt die Welt sein Konzept in Händen: als iPad, als Kindle, als Laptop.

Kay ließ sich dabei von Seymour Papert inspirieren, dem Pionier des Lernens mit Computern am MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seine Überzeugung: Computer sollten keine Rechenmaschinen für Experten sein, sondern Werkzeuge des Denkens für alle – besonders für Kinder.[2]

Xerox PARC – die Werkstatt der Zukunft

Ab 1971 arbeitete Kay ein Jahrzehnt lang im legendären Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) [3] des Xerox-Konzerns in Kalifornien. Dort entwickelte er gemeinsam mit Kolleginnen und Kollegen zwei Erfindungen, die die Computerwelt bis heute prägen:

• Smalltalk – eine der ersten objektorientierten Programmiersprachen, die Grundlage für Objective-C, Java, Ruby, Python und viele weitere moderne Sprachen war[4].
• Die grafische Benutzeroberfläche (GUI) – Fenster, Icons, Maus, Menüs. Was Apple mit dem Macintosh 1984 der Welt präsentierte, stammte konzeptionell aus dem PARC. Steve Jobs selbst besuchte das Labor und ließ sich inspirieren.

Kay drehte in dieser Zeit Filme, in denen Kinder mit Computern spielten und eigene Programme schrieben – in einer Ära, in der Computer noch riesige, unzugängliche Maschinen für Spezialisten waren.

Der Turing Award

2003 erhielt Kay den ACM Turing Award – den höchsten Preis der Informatik, oft als „Nobelpreis der Informatik“ bezeichnet. Die Begründung: „… für viele der Ideen, die den heutigen objektorientierten Programmiersprachen zugrunde liegen, für die Leitung des Teams, das Smalltalk entwickelt hat, und für grundlegende Beiträge zum Personal Computing.“

Werke von und über Alan Kay

Wer tiefer in Kays Denken eintauchen möchte, findet in unserem Bestand sowie Fachdatenbanken wie zum Beispiel der „ACM Digital Library“ hervorragendes Material:

Schriften von Alan Kay

• Kay, Alan (1972): A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages – das ursprüngliche Dynabook-Konzeptpapier (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/800193.1971922
• Kay, Alan Curtis (1968): FLEX – a flexible extendable language (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Goldberg, A., & Kay, A. (1977): Methods for teaching the programming language Smalltalk. In Teaching Smalltalk (Issue 1). XEROX Palo Alto Research Center (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Kay, Alan (1993): The Early History of Smalltalk – Kays persönliche Rückschau auf die Entstehung von Smalltalk (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/154766.155364
• Kay, A. (2002). The Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet. In: Herczeg, M., Prinz, W., Oberquelle, H. (eds) Mensch & Computer 2002. Berichte des German Chapter of the ACM, vol 56. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-89884-5_3

Unterschiedliche Medien über Kay und seine Epoche (Bibliotheksbestand)

• Kay, A. (2017). The HLF Portraits: Alan Kay. In The HLF Portraits. Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5446/40194
• Goldberg, Adele / Robson, David: Smalltalk-80: The Language and Its Implementation (1983) – Das Standardwerk zur von Kay mitentwickelten Sprache. ISBN 978-0201113716 (über TIB-Portal)
• Shasha, Dennis / Lazere, Cathy: Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists (1995) – enthält ein eigenes Kapitel über Kay. Corr. 2. printing. Copernicus. ISBN 0387979921 (über TIB Portal)

„Die Computer-Revolution hat noch nicht begonnen

Was bleibt von Alan Kay? Eine scheinbar paradoxe Aussage: 1997 erklärte er, die Computer-Revolution habe noch gar nicht stattgefunden – und steht bis heute zu dieser Einschätzung. Für Kay sind Computer noch immer zu sehr Werkzeuge der Routine und zu wenig Instrumente des tiefen Denkens. Seine Vision war stets eine andere: Computer, die Menschen helfen, Ideen zu entwickeln, die Welt wirklich zu verstehen und Probleme grundlegend neu zu durchdenken.

In Zeiten Künstlicher Intelligenz, in denen Maschinen immer mehr Aufgaben übernehmen, klingt Kays Frage aktueller denn je: Nutzen wir Technologie wirklich, um klüger zu werden – oder nur, um schneller zu sein? Am 17. Mai feiert er seinen 86. Geburtstag. Ein guter Anlass, sein Denken (wieder) zu entdecken – in unserer Bibliothek und online.

Weitere Quellen & Nachweise

• Wikipedia DE: Alan Kay (Biografie, Werke, Auszeichnungen) – https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
• Heise Online: Porträt zum 80. Geburtstag (Mai 2020) – https://www.heise.de/news/Der-Mann-der-Visionen-hatte-Zum-80-Geburtstag-von-Alan-Kay-4722700.html
• HNF Blog: „Alan Kay – der Visionär“ – https://blog.hnf.de/alan-kay-der-visionaer/
• ACM Turing Award 2003: offizielle Begründung – https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189.cfm
• Computer History Museum: Alan Kay – https://computerhistory.org/profile/alan-kay/
• Friedewald, M. (2003) Ein Computer für Kinder jeden Alters: Alan Kay und die Ursprünge grafischer Benutzungsoberflächen. i-com, Vol. 2 (Issue 2), pp. 38-42.

[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook

[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_PARC

[4] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk_(Programmiersprache)

Der Mann, der Ihr Smartphone erdacht hat

Tippen Sie gerade auf einem Smartphone? Wischen Sie durch ein Menü mit Icons? Nutzen Sie eine Maus? Dann arbeiten Sie mit Ideen, die ein Mann vor über 50 Jahren skizziert hat. Damals noch auf Papier – für einen Computer, den es noch gar nicht gab.

Alan Kay wird 86 – ein Visionär, dessen Ideen unseren Alltag prägen

Am 17. Mai 2026 feiert Alan Curtis Kay seinen 86. Geburtstag. Der US-amerikanische Informatiker gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Vordenker der Computergeschichte – und ist dennoch dem breiten Publikum weit weniger bekannt als seine Ideen. Ein guter Anlass, ihn und sein Werk zu entdecken. 

Wer ist Alan Kay?

Alan Curtis Kay wurde am 17. Mai 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts, geboren als Sohn eines australischen Prothesenbauers und einer US-amerikanischen Musikerin. Diese ungewöhnliche Mischung aus Naturwissenschaft und Kunst sollte sein gesamtes Denken prägen. Kay war nicht nur Informatiker: Im Laufe seines Lebens arbeitete er als professioneller Jazzgitarrist, Komponist, Theatergestalter und klassischer Organist – ein Denker mit Künstlerseele.

Er studierte Mathematik, Molekularbiologie und schließlich Informatik an der University of Utah, wo er mit Ivan Sutherland – dem Pionier der Computergrafik – zusammenarbeitete. 1969 promovierte er mit einer Dissertation über ein von ihm entwickeltes Konzept/System namens FLEX, ein früher Vorläufer dessen, was später als Personal Computer die Welt verändern sollte.[1]

Das Dynabook – das Tablet, das seiner Zeit 40 Jahre voraus war

1968 hatte Kay eine Vision, die ihn nicht mehr losließ: ein flacher, tragbarer Computer, leicht genug für ein Kind, mit dem man lesen, schreiben, rechnen und programmieren konnte. Er nannte es das Dynabook. Gebaut wurde es nie, aber Jahrzehnte später hielt die Welt sein Konzept in Händen: als iPad, als Kindle, als Laptop.

Kay ließ sich dabei von Seymour Papert inspirieren, dem Pionier des Lernens mit Computern am MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seine Überzeugung: Computer sollten keine Rechenmaschinen für Experten sein, sondern Werkzeuge des Denkens für alle – besonders für Kinder.[2]

Xerox PARC – die Werkstatt der Zukunft

Ab 1971 arbeitete Kay ein Jahrzehnt lang im legendären Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) [3] des Xerox-Konzerns in Kalifornien. Dort entwickelte er gemeinsam mit Kolleginnen und Kollegen zwei Erfindungen, die die Computerwelt bis heute prägen:

• Smalltalk – eine der ersten objektorientierten Programmiersprachen, die Grundlage für Objective-C, Java, Ruby, Python und viele weitere moderne Sprachen war[4].
• Die grafische Benutzeroberfläche (GUI) – Fenster, Icons, Maus, Menüs. Was Apple mit dem Macintosh 1984 der Welt präsentierte, stammte konzeptionell aus dem PARC. Steve Jobs selbst besuchte das Labor und ließ sich inspirieren.

Kay drehte in dieser Zeit Filme, in denen Kinder mit Computern spielten und eigene Programme schrieben – in einer Ära, in der Computer noch riesige, unzugängliche Maschinen für Spezialisten waren.

Der Turing Award

2003 erhielt Kay den ACM Turing Award – den höchsten Preis der Informatik, oft als „Nobelpreis der Informatik“ bezeichnet. Die Begründung: „… für viele der Ideen, die den heutigen objektorientierten Programmiersprachen zugrunde liegen, für die Leitung des Teams, das Smalltalk entwickelt hat, und für grundlegende Beiträge zum Personal Computing.“

Werke von und über Alan Kay

Wer tiefer in Kays Denken eintauchen möchte, findet in unserem Bestand sowie Fachdatenbanken wie zum Beispiel der „ACM Digital Library“ hervorragendes Material:

Schriften von Alan Kay

• Kay, Alan (1972): A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages – das ursprüngliche Dynabook-Konzeptpapier (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/800193.1971922
• Kay, Alan Curtis (1968): FLEX – a flexible extendable language (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Goldberg, A., & Kay, A. (1977): Methods for teaching the programming language Smalltalk. In Teaching Smalltalk (Issue 1). XEROX Palo Alto Research Center (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Kay, Alan (1993): The Early History of Smalltalk – Kays persönliche Rückschau auf die Entstehung von Smalltalk (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/154766.155364
• Kay, A. (2002). The Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet. In: Herczeg, M., Prinz, W., Oberquelle, H. (eds) Mensch & Computer 2002. Berichte des German Chapter of the ACM, vol 56. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-89884-5_3

Unterschiedliche Medien über Kay und seine Epoche (Bibliotheksbestand)

• Kay, A. (2017). The HLF Portraits: Alan Kay. In The HLF Portraits. Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5446/40194
• Goldberg, Adele / Robson, David: Smalltalk-80: The Language and Its Implementation (1983) – Das Standardwerk zur von Kay mitentwickelten Sprache. ISBN 978-0201113716 (über TIB-Portal)
• Shasha, Dennis / Lazere, Cathy: Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists (1995) – enthält ein eigenes Kapitel über Kay. Corr. 2. printing. Copernicus. ISBN 0387979921 (über TIB Portal)

„Die Computer-Revolution hat noch nicht begonnen

Was bleibt von Alan Kay? Eine scheinbar paradoxe Aussage: 1997 erklärte er, die Computer-Revolution habe noch gar nicht stattgefunden – und steht bis heute zu dieser Einschätzung. Für Kay sind Computer noch immer zu sehr Werkzeuge der Routine und zu wenig Instrumente des tiefen Denkens. Seine Vision war stets eine andere: Computer, die Menschen helfen, Ideen zu entwickeln, die Welt wirklich zu verstehen und Probleme grundlegend neu zu durchdenken.

In Zeiten Künstlicher Intelligenz, in denen Maschinen immer mehr Aufgaben übernehmen, klingt Kays Frage aktueller denn je: Nutzen wir Technologie wirklich, um klüger zu werden – oder nur, um schneller zu sein? Am 17. Mai feiert er seinen 86. Geburtstag. Ein guter Anlass, sein Denken (wieder) zu entdecken – in unserer Bibliothek und online.

Weitere Quellen & Nachweise

• Wikipedia DE: Alan Kay (Biografie, Werke, Auszeichnungen) – https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
• Heise Online: Porträt zum 80. Geburtstag (Mai 2020) – https://www.heise.de/news/Der-Mann-der-Visionen-hatte-Zum-80-Geburtstag-von-Alan-Kay-4722700.html
• HNF Blog: „Alan Kay – der Visionär“ – https://blog.hnf.de/alan-kay-der-visionaer/
• ACM Turing Award 2003: offizielle Begründung – https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189.cfm
• Computer History Museum: Alan Kay – https://computerhistory.org/profile/alan-kay/
• Friedewald, M. (2003) Ein Computer für Kinder jeden Alters: Alan Kay und die Ursprünge grafischer Benutzungsoberflächen. i-com, Vol. 2 (Issue 2), pp. 38-42.

[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook

[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_PARC

[4] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk_(Programmiersprache)

10 years ago today, #MarvinMinsky, American artificial intelligence #computerscientist (MIT), died at 88.
#RIP 🪦

#OnThisDay in 1992, #GraceHopper, American #computerscientist and US Navy #admiral who invented the first compiler for a universal computer programming language and is credited with coining the phrase 'debugging’, died at 85.
#RIP 🕊️

I am a #ComputerScientist who is not a trained theoretician. As such, I find #DependentTypes not only intellectually stimulating (that is, challenging) but also practically attractive (albeit potentially, at present).

Using a dependently typed language, many vexing run-time checks that pollute the code could be off-loaded to the compile-time type checking, thereby leaving the logic flow clean, concise, comprehensible, and well, you know. Off-the-cuff examples abound: matrix multiplications without run-time checks for dimensional compatibility, sorted lists that need no run-time assurances of order, etc.

But these thoughts niggle me:

• BOUNDARY—Many modern, strongly, statically typed languages, like TypeScript, Zig, etc., have type systems that are Turing complete (unintentionally and with the attendant ⊥). It would be nonsensical to transfer all computing from run-time to compile-time. So, how do we, #programmers, discern this allusive boundary?

• ERGONOMICS—At present, most dependently typed languages and simply typed languages with Turing-complete type systems have rather ill syntax for type expressions. I am tempted to save Agda from this rather sweeping swipe, but even my beloved Agda's type-level syntax could use a bit of tidying up. If language designers insist upon foisting dependent types upon us, they ought to pay attention to the syntactic ergonomics of the type-level expressions as much as they do that of the value-level expressions.

I am a #ComputerScientist who is not a trained theoretician. As such, I find #DependentTypes not only intellectually stimulating (that is, challenging) but also practically attractive (albeit potentially, at present).

Using a dependently typed language, many vexing run-time checks that pollute the code could be off-loaded to the compile-time type checking, thereby leaving the logic flow clean, concise, comprehensible, and well, you know. Off-the-cuff examples abound: matrix multiplications without run-time checks for dimensional compatibility, sorted lists that need no run-time assurances of order, etc.

But these thoughts niggle me:

• BOUNDARY—Many modern, strongly, statically typed languages, like TypeScript, Zig, etc., have type systems that are Turing complete (unintentionally and with the attendant ⊥). It would be nonsensical to transfer all computing from run-time to compile-time. So, how do we, #programmers, discern this allusive boundary?

• ERGONOMICS—At present, most dependently typed languages and simply typed languages with Turing-complete type systems have rather ill syntax for type expressions. I am tempted to save Agda from this rather sweeping swipe, but even my beloved Agda's type-level syntax could use a bit of tidying up. If language designers insist upon foisting dependent types upon us, they ought to pay attention to the syntactic ergonomics of the type-level expressions as much as they do that of the value-level expressions.

Happy birthday to #mathematician & #computerscientist US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) who popularized the revolutionary idea of developing machine-independent programming languages based on English.

She began teaching at Vassar in 31 & got PhD (Yale) in 34. She found marriage & teaching less fulfilling & tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected then got a special exemption to 🧵

https://minouette.etsy.com/listing/748918489

#printmaking #womenInSTEM #histsci #artAdventCalendar #mastoArt

Happy birthday to #mathematician & #computerscientist US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) who popularized the revolutionary idea of developing machine-independent programming languages based on English.

She began teaching at Vassar in 31 & got PhD (Yale) in 34. She found marriage & teaching less fulfilling & tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected then got a special exemption to 🧵

https://minouette.etsy.com/listing/748918489

#printmaking #womenInSTEM #histsci #artAdventCalendar #mastoArt

#ComputerScientist and #Nobel Physics Laureate #GeoffreyHinton: ‘#AI will make a few people much richer and most people poorer’
What’s actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers,” he says. “It’s going to create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits. It will make a few people much richer and most people poorer. That’s not AI’s fault, that is the #capitalist system.”
https://www.ft.com/content/31feb335-4945-475e-baaa-3b880d9cf8ce
https://archive.ph/gzBV7
#artificialintelligence

#ComputerScientist and #Nobel Physics Laureate #GeoffreyHinton: ‘#AI will make a few people much richer and most people poorer’
What’s actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers,” he says. “It’s going to create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits. It will make a few people much richer and most people poorer. That’s not AI’s fault, that is the #capitalist system.”
https://www.ft.com/content/31feb335-4945-475e-baaa-3b880d9cf8ce
https://archive.ph/gzBV7
#artificialintelligence

The man who created #CAPTCHA and #Duolingo

By the way I am very tired of Duolingo streak system. I want to form habits which are more important, like exercising my body, not regularly spent concentration on a language learning game.

In short, I think Duolingo is dubious.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_von_Ahn

#computerScientist

The difference between Scientists and Computer Scientists:
#Scientist: "Why does this work?"
#ComputerScientist: "Why doesn't this work?"

The difference between Scientists and Computer Scientists:
#Scientist: "Why does this work?"
#ComputerScientist: "Why doesn't this work?"

FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/03/computer-scientist-goes-silent-after-fbi-raid-and-purging-from-university-website/

Indiana University quietly removes profile of tenured professor and refuses to say why.

#IndianaU #XiaofengWang #Disappeared #ComputerScientist #TenuredProfessor #USA

FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/03/computer-scientist-goes-silent-after-fbi-raid-and-purging-from-university-website/

Indiana University quietly removes profile of tenured professor and refuses to say why.

#IndianaU #XiaofengWang #Disappeared #ComputerScientist #TenuredProfessor #USA

FBI raids home of prominent #ComputerScientist who has gone incommunicado
Indiana #University quietly removes profile of tenured #professor and refuses to say why.
Xiaofeng Wang was the associate dean for research at Indiana University's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering.
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/03/computer-scientist-goes-silent-after-fbi-raid-and-purging-from-university-website/

FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/03/computer-scientist-goes-silent-after-fbi-raid-and-purging-from-university-website/

#HackerNews #FBI #Raid #ComputerScientist #Incommunicado #SecurityNews

FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/03/computer-scientist-goes-silent-after-fbi-raid-and-purging-from-university-website/

#HackerNews #FBI #Raid #ComputerScientist #Incommunicado #SecurityNews

#USCourtOfAppeals unanimously denies #CopyrightProtection for #AICreated images https://zorz.it/pnQPe | #KenKlein #AI #copyright #DrStephenThaler #ComputerScientist #FederalCourt #law

Bonus #artAdventCalendar: Happy birthday to #mathematician & #computerscientist US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) who popularized the revolutionary idea of developing machine-independent programming languages based on English.

She began teaching at Vassar in 31 & got PhD (Yale) in 34. She found marriage & teaching less fulfilling & tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected then got a special exemption to volunteer for 🧵1/n

#printmaking #womenInSTEM #histsci #MastoArt

Bonus #artAdventCalendar: Happy birthday to #mathematician & #computerscientist US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) who popularized the revolutionary idea of developing machine-independent programming languages based on English.

She began teaching at Vassar in 31 & got PhD (Yale) in 34. She found marriage & teaching less fulfilling & tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected then got a special exemption to volunteer for 🧵1/n

#printmaking #womenInSTEM #histsci #MastoArt

As a #ComputerScientist, many times I wish I were a REAL #scientist.
As a #SoftwareEngineer, many times I wish I were a REAL #engineer.

As a #ComputerScientist, many times I wish I were a REAL #scientist.
As a #SoftwareEngineer, many times I wish I were a REAL #engineer.

As a #ComputerScientist, many times I wish I were a REAL #scientist. As a #SoftwareEngineer, many times I wish I were a REAL #engineer.

Do what you enjoy and earn money for it.

#Hiring #Leipzig #ComputerScientist #IT #Informatician #HybridWork #MedicalAI #CDSS #Java #TypeScript #Python #AcademicChatter #OpenSource #OpenScience #NiceTeam

How a stubborn #computerscientist accidentally launched the #deeplearning boom
"You’ve taken this idea way too far," a mentor told Prof. Fei-Fei Li, who was creating a new image #dataset that would be far larger than any that had come before: 14 million images, each labeled with one of nearly 22,000 categories. Then in 2012, a team from Univ of Toronto trained a #neura network on #ImageNet, achieving unprecedented performance in image recognition, dubbed #AlexNet.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/how-a-stubborn-computer-scientist-accidentally-launched-the-deep-learning-boom/ #AI

How a stubborn #computerscientist accidentally launched the #deeplearning boom
"You’ve taken this idea way too far," a mentor told Prof. Fei-Fei Li, who was creating a new image #dataset that would be far larger than any that had come before: 14 million images, each labeled with one of nearly 22,000 categories. Then in 2012, a team from Univ of Toronto trained a #neura network on #ImageNet, achieving unprecedented performance in image recognition, dubbed #AlexNet.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/how-a-stubborn-computer-scientist-accidentally-launched-the-deep-learning-boom/ #AI

Just How Much Can We Trust #AI. to Predict #ExtremeWeather?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/just-how-much-can-we-trust-ai-to-predict-extreme-weather-180985117/

#Computerscientist and #meteorologist Amy McGovern has studied the #technology for two decades, and she weighs in with some answers

Just How Much Can We Trust #AI. to Predict #ExtremeWeather?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/just-how-much-can-we-trust-ai-to-predict-extreme-weather-180985117/

#Computerscientist and #meteorologist Amy McGovern has studied the #technology for two decades, and she weighs in with some answers

#IreneZhang from #Microsoft #Research: "The Moral Implications of Being a Moderately Successful #ComputerScientist and a #Woman"

"my very existence as a moderately young, moderately successful computer scientist threatens some men's sense of identity, thus making them uncomfortable and/or lash out."

#IT #Researcher #GenderBias #academia #women @academicchatter

https://www.sigops.org/2024/the-moral-implications-of-being-a-moderately-successful-computer-scientist-and-a-woman/

#IreneZhang from #Microsoft #Research: "The Moral Implications of Being a Moderately Successful #ComputerScientist and a #Woman"

"my very existence as a moderately young, moderately successful computer scientist threatens some men's sense of identity, thus making them uncomfortable and/or lash out."

#IT #Researcher #GenderBias #academia #women @academicchatter

https://www.sigops.org/2024/the-moral-implications-of-being-a-moderately-successful-computer-scientist-and-a-woman/

Today at work I attended a talk by Zach Weinersmith @smbccomics about #writing pop #science.

He said that a #ComputerScientist told him that the best #writers are the ones who have mastered the "full #stack": words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters. At whatever level of #abstraction you are working, every element should be there for a specific reason.

He also said that if you are #happy all the time as a writer, you are doing it wrong. You need to learn to cry as you delete your own words.

»#TheGodmotherofAI says #California’s well-intended #AIbill will #harm the U.S. #ecosystem: #FeiFeiLi, PhD, is a #computerscientist who is widely credited with being the 'Godmother of AI'. https://fortune.com/2024/08/06/godmother-of-ai-says-californias-ai-bill-will-harm-us-ecosystem-tech-politics/?eicker.news #tech #media

»#TheGodmotherofAI says #California’s well-intended #AIbill will #harm the U.S. #ecosystem: #FeiFeiLi, PhD, is a #computerscientist who is widely credited with being the 'Godmother of AI'. https://fortune.com/2024/08/06/godmother-of-ai-says-californias-ai-bill-will-harm-us-ecosystem-tech-politics/?eicker.news #tech #media

#Pioneering #transgender #ComputerScientist #LynnConway #dies at 86

The Early #supercomputer #pioneer was #fired after she #transitioned.

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/06/13/pioneering-transgender-computer-scientist-lynn-conway-dies-at-86/

#Pioneering #transgender #ComputerScientist #LynnConway #dies at 86

The Early #supercomputer #pioneer was #fired after she #transitioned.

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/06/13/pioneering-transgender-computer-scientist-lynn-conway-dies-at-86/

#LynnConway, #revolutionary #trans #computerscientist & #activist, #dies at 86.

Her #family remembers her for her #kind #heart and immense #wisdom

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Technology #Activism #RoleModels #Representation #Culture

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/06/lynn-conway-revolutionary-trans-computer-scientist-activist-dies-at-86/

#LynnConway, #revolutionary #trans #computerscientist & #activist, #dies at 86.

Her #family remembers her for her #kind #heart and immense #wisdom

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Technology #Activism #RoleModels #Representation #Culture

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/06/lynn-conway-revolutionary-trans-computer-scientist-activist-dies-at-86/

#LynnConway, #trailblazing #trans #computerscientist, #dies at 85.

The former #IBM and #XerosPAC #engineer reportedly #passedaway in her #home in #Jackson, #Michigan on Sunday (10 June) following #complications due to a #heartcondition, according to her #husband, #CharlesRogers. “I was by her side the entire time, and was holding her hand when she passed,” he said in the statement. “I don’t know what I will do without the love of my life.”

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/06/12/lynn-conway-obituary/

#LynnConway, #trailblazing #trans #computerscientist, #dies at 85.

The former #IBM and #XerosPAC #engineer reportedly #passedaway in her #home in #Jackson, #Michigan on Sunday (10 June) following #complications due to a #heartcondition, according to her #husband, #CharlesRogers. “I was by her side the entire time, and was holding her hand when she passed,” he said in the statement. “I don’t know what I will do without the love of my life.”

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/06/12/lynn-conway-obituary/

Nah a #computerscientist regularly sees a #tree outside alright, they just seem to think all trees are like Christmas trees ​:chuckling_okuu:​

RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/users/pustam_egr/statuses/112395029598209462

Nah a #computerscientist regularly sees a #tree outside alright, they just seem to think all trees are like Christmas trees ​:chuckling_okuu:​

RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/users/pustam_egr/statuses/112395029598209462

As a #ComputerScientist, I believe that #automation *can* make things better for us. Unfortunately, it appears that tech companies are giving up on trying to solve actual problems and instead are pushing solutions with problematic implications.

For example: #Facebook has shown me “Try a suggested comment” for posts from friends and family. This is not predictive text to help me type, this is replacing my voice. Am I wrong to want to #KeepMyOwnVoice?

#KeepYourVoice #WriteYourOwnWords

As a #ComputerScientist, I believe that #automation *can* make things better for us. Unfortunately, it appears that tech companies are giving up on trying to solve actual problems and instead are pushing solutions with problematic implications.

For example: #Facebook has shown me “Try a suggested comment” for posts from friends and family. This is not predictive text to help me type, this is replacing my voice. Am I wrong to want to #KeepMyOwnVoice?

#KeepYourVoice #WriteYourOwnWords

#artAdventCalendar Happy birthday to #mathematician & #computerscientist US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) who popularized the revolutionary idea of developing machine-independent programming languages based on English.

She began teaching at Vassar in 31 & got PhD (Yale) in 34. She found marriage & teaching less fulfilling & tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected then got a special exemption to volunteer 🧵1/n

#MastoArt #printmaking #womenInSTEM #histstm

#artAdventCalendar Happy birthday to #mathematician & #computerscientist US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) who popularized the revolutionary idea of developing machine-independent programming languages based on English.

She began teaching at Vassar in 31 & got PhD (Yale) in 34. She found marriage & teaching less fulfilling & tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected then got a special exemption to volunteer 🧵1/n

#MastoArt #printmaking #womenInSTEM #histstm

Hello! #introductions
I'm a #ComputationalBiologist (1st #biochemist, then #ComputerScientist). I'm faculty at UConn Health. I'm interested in many scientific areas such as #SystemsBiology, #ComputationalModeling and #Simulation, #IronMetabolism, #NonlinearDynamics, #SoftwareDevelopment. I'm one of the authors of the @copasi simulation software and its predecessor Gepasi (thus my handle). I care about #OpenAccess & #OpenSource. I am also interested in #photography, #Linux, and #EVs.

Hello! #introductions
I'm a #ComputationalBiologist (1st #biochemist, then #ComputerScientist). I'm faculty at UConn Health. I'm interested in many scientific areas such as #SystemsBiology, #ComputationalModeling and #Simulation, #IronMetabolism, #NonlinearDynamics, #SoftwareDevelopment. I'm one of the authors of the @copasi simulation software and its predecessor Gepasi (thus my handle). I care about #OpenAccess & #OpenSource. I am also interested in #photography, #Linux, and #EVs.

One of the downsides of being an independent #consultant in #IT is that one is obliged to submit to #interviews, frequently.

Many years ago, when dot-com erupted, I was asked by a long-time friend to help out a start-up that he was mentoring. I was interviewed by his mentee, a twenty-one-year-old CTO. Young C-level executives were quite common in those days, and so were the mentorship arrangements like that of my friend's.

After the usual exchange of pleasantries, the CTO asked, "So, what are your 'superpowers' as a #developer?"

I answered, "I'm not a developer; I'm a #ComputerScientist." He shot me a confused look. To break a long, awkward silence that followed, I proceeded to say, "My strongest 'superpower', I suppose, is my humility to realise that I possess no superpowers."

I didn't get that gig—fortunately.

Lukas Burgholzer is a passionate #ComputerScientist who wants to unlock the secrets of #QuantumComputing #SoftwareDevelopment. 💻From pen and paper to automated solutions, he is paving the way for a seamless quantum #UserExperience: https://www.munich-quantum-valley.de/about-us/mqv-in-persona/lukas-burgholzer

@MunichQuantum

At @techreview briefing, #CognitivePsychologist and #ComputerScientist Geoffrey Hinton spoke about how he’s helped build #machines that are #immortal and the various dangers these machines now pose to #humanity: “Smart things can outsmart us,” says Hinton. https://flip.it/7DsyHn #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #SpiritualMachines #Singularity via @Forbes

(8/n)

...do not even have to be a #ComputerScientist to ascertain that.]

Even without #AGI, "...the current crop of less sophisticated #AIs already poses a threat, from #misinformation-spreading synthetic content to the threat of AI-powered #weaponry...

Although #humanity is racing toward a cliff, we're not there yet, and there's still time for us to slow down, change course and avoid falling off – and instead enjoying the amazing benefits that safe, aligned #AI has to offer,"..."