"Hello, World!"

What is code (software program), asks Clive Thompson in Coders:

“Code is speech, speech a human utters to silicon, which makes the machine come to life and do our will.”

Take the first program taught in almost every computer language: It “begins with that one incantation. “Hello, World!”,  some variant of this line:

print (“Hello, World!”)

 

Is code just words that a machine understands? No, wrote Fred Brooks:

“Unlike the poet’s words, (code) is real in the sense that it moves and works, producing visible output… It prints results, draws pictures, produces sounds, moves arms… One types the correct incantation on the keyboard, and a display screen comes to life.”

Which is why, Thompson writes:

“The phrase “Hello, World!” is so laden with metaphoric freight. It summons to mind all the religious traditions where a god utters creation into existence: “In the beginning there was the Word”

And “Hello, World!” also has its “creepy side”:

“It reminds you of the unexpected side-effects that come from bringing something to life that might escape your control (like Frankenstein’s monster).”

 

A train of thought that Thompson then takes to its logical conclusion:

“This sense of magical control can be intoxicating and fun; it lends itself frequently to a sort of starry-eyed idealism.”

Nothing wrong in idealism, of course, but:

“It (idealism) can also lead, particularly in younger coders – who’ve yet to be humbled by life and their own screw-ups – to some epic hubris.”

Google set out with the idea that organizing all the information of the world can only be a good thing. Facebook started off believing that connecting everyone would reduce differences. In an industry famous for its startups, where college kids form multi-billion dollar companies, the danger of said idealism is obvious:

“(Coders) become convinced that they have a unique ability to understand any kind of system at all, from first principles, without prior training, thanks to their superior power of analysis.”

 

Joseph Weizenbaum warned about programming in 1976:

“One would have to be astonished if Lord Acton’s observation that power corrupts were not to apply in an environment in which omnipotence is so easily achievable.”

It reminded me of Uber’s infamous “God View”, a feature intended to track its users but was abused by some of its employees to stalk their ex-girlfriends!

 

Thompson’s book is a great romp on programmers and the inordinate impact that they have on society today.

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