We are traveling through the era of Software 2.0, in which the key components of modern software are increasingly determined by the parameters of machine learning models, rather than hard-coded in the language of for loops and if-else statements. There are serious challenges with such software and models, including the data they’re trained on, how … Read moreHand Labeling Considered Harmful – O’Reilly
Certainly the biggest news of the past month has been a continuation of the trend towards regulating the biggest players in the tech industry. The US House of Representatives is considering 5 antitrust bills that would lead to major changes in the way the largest technology companies do business; and the Biden administration has appointed … Read moreRadar trends to watch: July 2021 – O’Reilly
In Glue: the Dark Matter of Software, Marcel Weiher asks why there’s so much code. Why is Microsoft Office 400 million lines of code? Why are we always running into the truth of Alan Kay’s statement that “Software seems ‘large’ and ‘complicated’ for what it does”? Weiher makes an interesting claim: the reason we have … Read moreThinking About Glue – O’Reilly
In the first article of this series, we discussed communal computing devices and the problems they create–or, more precisely, the problems that arise because we don’t really understand what “communal” means. Communal devices are intended to be used by groups of people in homes and offices. Examples include popular home assistants and smart displays like … Read moreCommunal Computing’s Many Problems – O’Reilly
Security continues to be in the news: most notably the Kaseya ransomware attack, which was the first case of a supply chain ransomware attack that we’re aware of. That’s new and very dangerous territory. However, the biggest problem in security remains simple: take care of the basics. Good practices for authentication, backups, and software updates … Read moreRadar trends to watch: August 2021 – O’Reilly
The concept behind ransomware is simple. An attacker plants malware on your system that encrypts all the files, making your system useless, then offers to sell you the key you need to decrypt the files. Payment is usually in bitcoin (BTC), and the decryption key is deleted if you don’t pay within a certain period. … Read moreDefending against ransomware is all about the basics – O’Reilly
Communal devices in our homes and offices aren’t quite right. In previous articles, we discussed the history of communal computing and the origin of the single user model. Then we reviewed the problems that arise due to identity, privacy, security, experience, and ownership issues. They aren’t solvable by just making a quick fix. They require … Read moreA Way Forward with Communal Computing – O’Reilly
There’s a flavor of puzzle in which you try to determine the next number or shape in a sequence. We’re living that now, but for naming the data field. “Predictive analytics.” “Big Data.” “Data science.” “Machine learning.” “AI.” What’s next? It’s hard to say. These terms all claim to be different, but they are very … Read moreRebranding Data – O’Reilly
Let’s start with a moment of silence for O’Reilly Author Toby Segaran, who passed away on August 11, 2021. Toby was one of the people who got the Data Science movement started. His book, Programming Collective Intelligence, taught many how to start using their data. Throughout his career, he mentored many, and was particularly influential … Read moreRadar trends to watch: September 2021 – O’Reilly
In June 2021, we asked the recipients of our Data & AI Newsletter to respond to a survey about compensation. The results gave us insight into what our subscribers are paid, where they’re located, what industries they work for, what their concerns are, and what sorts of career development opportunities they’re pursuing. While it’s sadly premature to … Read more2021 Data/AI Salary Survey – O’Reilly