Human-like Computers - A Lesson in Absurdity

Some 50 years ago, the computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum found that the idea that the socialization of a machine might in any way be comparable to the one of a human, is a sign of the madness of our time. Today, the idea is mostly not seen as a mad but rather as a quite plausible one, as are many other ideas about human-likeness of computers, like them having consciousness. At a closer look, however, the alleged human-likeness of computers is merely derived from weak analogies, like them having intelligence just because they can play chess (and nothing else). The book details the psychological and physiological preconditions for human mental functions to occur, ones that cannot possibly be fulfilled by computers. It puts the computers-as-humans issue into the broader philosophical frame of the scientistic view that man is basically a machine.

What every engineer and computer scientist should know

Seeking the fundamental factors instrumental to happiness.

The Privacy Fix

Online surveillance of our behavior by private companies is on the increase, particularly through the Internet of Things and the increasing use of algorithmic decision-making. This troubling trend undermines privacy and increasingly threatens our ability to control how information about us is shared and used. Written by a computer scientist and a legal scholar, The Privacy Fix proposes a set of evidence-based, practical solutions that will help solve this problem. Requiring no technical or legal expertise, the book explains complicated concepts in clear, straightforward language. Bridging the gap between computer scientists, economists, lawyers, and public policy makers, this book provides theoretically and practically sound public policy guidance about how to preserve privacy in the onslaught of surveillance. It emphasizes the need to make tradeoffs among the complex concerns that arise, and it outlines a practical norm-creation process to do so.

Mathematics in the middle: The relationship between measurement and metamorphic matter

This paper revisits philosophical questions regarding the relationship between mathematics and matter. I briefly present four contrary and contemporary perspectives on the speculative force of mathematics, as a provocation for further discussion on the subject of sciento-metrics. I first consider the ideas of the philosopher Quentin Meillassoux, as a way of setting the stage for various kinds of materialist philosophies of mathematics. I then turn to the ideas of two mathematicians - Fernando Zalamea and Giuseppe Longo - and a computer scientist - Gregory Chaitin - and explore how their discussions of contemporary mathematical practice offer important insight (and twist) regarding the relationship between mathematics and matter.

Alan Turing and Oxford

Did Alan Turing OBE FRS (23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954), the celebrated mathematician, codebreaker, and pioneer computer scientist, ever visit Oxford? He is well-known for his connections with the University of Cambridge, Bletchley Park, the National Physical Laboratory, and the University of Manchester, but there is no known written archival record of him ever visiting Oxford, despite it being the location of the University of Oxford, traditionally a rival of Cambridge. However, surely he must have done so.

Great educators in computer networking

This interview is part of a series on Great Educators in Computer Networking, where we interview some of the most impactful and skilled educators in our field. Here, we interviewed Australian Bruce Davie, the self-described computer scientist/engineer/runner/cyclist, who agreed to talk to us about his thoughts on computer networking education, his role in it, his thoughts about the big ideas in our field, and how the pandemic is changing our work. Bruce has over 30 years of industry experience and is well known for a broad spectrum of educational initiatives such as co-authoring several textbooks, as well as his contributions to many networking standards and technologies, including IP quality of service, network virtualization, software defined networking, and more