English is NOT a Programming Language

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By AMIT RAJA NAIK Wednesday, Feb 7, 2024 | Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here ___________________________________________________________ Douglas Crockford, the ‘JSON’ creator, is not smiling. He’s a bit worried about English being called a programming language – “it’s so ambiguous.”   In an exclusive interview with AIM, Crockford shared his discomfort with the Roman language being advocated for programming through natural language via AI chatbots and said that the fundamental law of programming is that the code has to be perfect. And English is far from perfect. “It has to be perfect in every aspect, in every detail, for all states, for all time,” the 70-year-old retired programmer said. He further elaborated that if it isn’t, the computer is licensed to do the worst possible thing at the worst possible time. “It’s not the computer’s fault, it is the programmers’ fault,” he noted. Over the history of programming languages, we’ve been trying to develop ways of expressing algorithms and procedures, which are less likely to be misunderstood or do bad things. English is an awful language for trying to do that because it’s not specific enough, the JavaScript guru emphasised. Let’s say, two men are trying to drive a stake into the ground. One of them has a hammer, and the other says, ‘when I nod my head, hit it with a hammer,’ narrates Crockford, saying that these sorts of misunderstandings happen in English all the time, worryingly – a story he shares from his 2018 book ‘How Javascript Works’. He said when we’re “trying to communicate with computers, there is no room for understanding” because the AI does not grasp the context of conversations. “We have to be perfect in our expression and natural languages are not good at that,” he said in response to why he was sceptical about using English for programming. Enjoy the exclusive interview here.  AI in Journalism  The relationship between journalism and AI is becoming increasingly intertwined to the point where one cannot thrive without the other. Just yesterday, Microsoft announced collaborations with several news organisations to equip their journalists with learning how AI tools work. The training workshops will help scribes at Semafor, The GroundTruth Project and other media outlets improve their reporting, research and writing.  OpenAI’s all-time favourite The New York Times also is now using generative AI and other machine learning techniques to help with reporting. Not surprised. Last week, it even posted job listings for both engineering and editorial roles.  Do you think journalism needs AI to stay relevant? Read to find out. Breaking Language Barriers     Bhashini’s Amitabh Nag is not fond of small talk. In conversation with AIM during his five-minute tea break, Nag discusses his work on building a platform for India that could, one day, transform how we (Indians) communicate with each other. “Throughout one’s life, regardless of daily endeavours, individuals should not feel pressured to learn another language,” said Nag, expressing a strong desire to eliminate the language barrier in the country. Explore Bhashini’s roadmap here. Making Custom Chips in India     A global semiconductor leader, Analog Devices, last year recorded $12.3 billion in revenue. Even though the contribution from India towards its global revenue share is minimal, India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for the company. It is now planning to develop chips locally.  Check out Analog Devices India's expansion plans here.  Register for our Upcoming Workshop - Parameter-efficient Fine-tuning of Large Language Models DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP Stay Connected info@analyticsindiamag.com © 2023 Analytics India Magazine

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