The field of Computer Science is headed for a major upheaval with the rise of large AI models, such as ChatGPT, that are capable of performing general-purpose reasoning and problem solving. We are headed for a future in which it will no longer be necessary to write computer programs. Rather, I believe that most software will eventually be replaced by AI models that, given an appropriate description of a task, will directly execute that task, without requiring the creation or maintenance of conventional software. In effect, large language models act as a virtual machine that is “programmed” in natural language.
This talk will explore the implications of this prediction, drawing on recent research into the cognitive and task execution capabilities of large language models.
Matt Welsh is the founder of Ziggylabs, a Seattle-based startup developing human-friendly AI tech. He was previously cofounder at Fixie, head of engineering at OctoML, a software engineer at Apple and Xnor.ai, engineering director at Google, and a Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University. He holds a PhD from UC Berkeley....