In the era of rapid artificial intelligence development, panic has been spreading around various industries, specifically about the possibility of Artificial Intelligence one day overtaking computer science geniuses worldwide and replacing the entire computer science landscape. In this environment, the question arises: Is computer science obsolete? Today, we will delve into computer science's past, present, and future under the threat of artificial intelligence.
A brief look at computer science’s uprise
Before the modern era, machines have already been contrived. While none of these are digital-like modern computers, they were still innovative analog devices that were used for a variety of purposes. For example, the Antikythera mechanism, invented in 80 BCE, was used by Greeks to predict the motion of stars and planets, an essential milestone for astronomy.
As humans entered the 20th century, the need for better and more capable calculating machines was created. The world’s finest innovators found themselves in WWII, a time when electronic and digital computers started to thrive. Ballistics during the war was tedious to hand-calculate, so numerous machines were created by the Allied forces and the Axis. One notable computer out of the bunch was the EDVAC, created by Mauchly, Eckert, and Jon Von Neumann in 1944. What stood out about this computer was that one, it was one of the first to use binary instead of decimal, and two, it was designed to contain storage. These two features are still present in our generation of computing, thus highlighting how revolutionary this computer really was.
In the 1960s, George Forsythe, a numerical analyst, finally established the term “computer science.” Richard Wexelblat was the first to receive a computer science Ph. D. The digital aspects of computers were also advancing at astonishing rates, with operating systems being introduced like System 360. Programming languages were also created, which were the foundation of computer science. This landscape of development continued until the 1980s, when personal computers (PCs) became very popular, thanks to the works of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the creators of Apple and iMac. That was essentially the beginning of the widespread internet era.
Will Artificial intelligence replace computer science entirely?
When ChatGPT was first introduced, many programmers worldwide were immediately shaken by its supernatural abilities to compose code. Many started to doubt the longevity of human coders in this industry, and this growing paranoia paved the way for today’s topic. Luckily, there are many reasons behind why this likely wouldn’t happen.
Firstly, the argument that “AI will replace computer science” doesn’t logically make sense. The fundamental force or structure behind artificial intelligence is its machine learning process, where computer science is often utilized to train the model. The growing power and capabilities not only do not diminish the value of computer science but further emphasize its ever-increasing vitality and importance in this epoch.
Additionally, only the best programmers out there have mastered a critical skill: the ability to adapt. Especially at this point in time, technology’s evolution and change happen in the blink of an eye. The limitation behind machine learning is that the model is confined purely to the information it was trained with – Artificial intelligence is a guessing machine, like any other human who doesn’t know everything in this world, a computer science professor in China expressed in a guest lecture in the summer of 2024. Even the best artificial intelligence models are not equipped to adapt and flex their knowledge based on “the meta,” so human programmers will take the lead in this aspect.
The future of computer science
Overall, there should not be a concern surrounding AI replacing human intervention in computer science. The critical thing to understand is that Artificial Intelligence, unless operated by businessmen against the whole of humanity, will only become one of the most robust tools in every programmer’s shed. Looking into the future from our current perception of Artificial intelligence, here are some supported predictions on what is likely going to happen:
1. Artificial intelligence leads to minor job loss and unemployment. Although artificial intelligence doesn’t have a considerable chance of eliminating all human forces in computer sciences, it has already taken a toll on some job opportunities worldwide. However, this is probably insufficient to cause massive concern about the longevity of humans in computer science.
2. Computer science continues to evolve and branch out. In recent years, data science and machine learning have gained traction as crucial branches. Going forward, it is likely that computer science will evolve again and branch out, bringing ever more intriguing effects to humanity.
3. Software reliance in numerous sectors will rise significantly. Over the course of computer science’s history, we have seen a natural tendency for machinery to go from analog to digital. This will likely stay true in the future, where key technology like Web 3 will redefine the timeline of hardware and, potentially, software intelligence.
Reference List
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IIMTU Admin (2023). The Future of Computer Science and Engineering in today’s Era. [online] IIMT University Official Blog - Explore more! Available at: https://iimtu.edu.in/blog/the-future-of-computer-science-and-engineering-in-today-era/#:~:text=Growth%20outlook%20for%20computer%20science,in%20software%20and%20hardware%20development [Accessed 7 Sep. 2024].
Reddit.com. (2024). Reddit - Dive into anything. [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/computerscience/comments/12kee2p/will_ai_replace_software_engineers/ [Accessed 7 Sep. 2024].
Uwaterloo.ca. (2024). History of Computer Science. [online] Available at: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~shallit/Courses/134/history.html [Accessed 7 Sep. 2024].
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Wikipedia Contributors (2024). EDVAC. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDVAC [Accessed 7 Sep. 2024].
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