Programming Language Generations

An incredibly brief history

First Generation

• Machine Code: absolutely nothing is abstracted
• The machine matters 
• More than the programmer

Second Generation

• Assembly
• Useful Constructs: (MOV, XCHG, etc.)
• Essentially reusable blocks of Machine Code
• Machine still matters
• A nod to the programmer, albeit a minor one

3rd Generation

• Big Leap

• COBOL and Fortran

• Statements abstract concepts from computer instructions to “IF” and “DO” 

• Compiles onto multiple machines!

• Programming is not a specific set of an instructions for a single machine

• Programmer-centric 

4th Generation

• DSLs and Object Oriented live here
• Programmer is the absolute center
• Machine Agnostic
• Performance takes a hit
• Borders on natural language
  • "for thing in things:"

Trend

• Machine matters less
• Programmer matters more

Fifth Generation

(A prologue on Prolog)

5GLs 

• How the kids say:
  "Fifth Generation programming Languages"
• Prolog isn't the only one...
• But it's the only one I learned much about

Prolog

• 5GL
• Built on Lisp
• Basic units: Facts and Rules
• Treats source code and data the same
• Queries discover relationships/truths

Knowledge Bases

happy(yolanda). 
listens2Music(mia). 
listens2Music(yolanda):-  happy(yolanda). 
playsAirGuitar(mia):-  listens2Music(mia). 
playsAirGuitar(yolanda):-  listens2Music(yolanda).

Rules and Facts in Prolog:

http://www.learnprolognow.org/lpnpage.php?pagetype=html&pageid=lpn-htmlse1​

• Yolanda is happy
• Mia listens to music
• When Yolanda listens to music, she is happy
• Mia plays air guitar when she listens to music
• Yolanda plays air guitar when she listens to music

Queries

happy(yolanda). 
listens2Music(mia). 
listens2Music(yolanda):-  happy(yolanda). 
playsAirGuitar(mia):-  listens2Music(mia). 
playsAirGuitar(yolanda):-  listens2Music(yolanda).


?-  playsAirGuitar(mia).

yes

Does Mia play air guitar? Yes.

Queries (cont'd)

loves(vincent,mia). 
loves(marsellus,mia). 
loves(pumpkin,honey_bunny). 
loves(honey_bunny,pumpkin). 
    
jealous(X,Y):-  loves(X,Z),  loves(Y,Z).


?-  jealous(marsellus,W).

W  =  vincent

• Vincent and Mia love each other
• Marsellus and Mia love each other
• Jealousy happens between X and Y when they both love Z
• Who is Marsellus jealous of? Vincent

Declarative

• Give facts
• Ask a question
• No algorithm provided by a human
• 5GLs 

Imperative

• Give step by step instructions
• Have the computer execute them exactly
• >5GLs (mostly)

Seems great!...BUT

• Creating Facts and Rules is hard (essential)
• Creating Facts and Rules is boring (accidental)
• Even figuring out the problem is hard!
• Make a computer do it!

AI driven 5GL

• AI makes the rules and facts
• AI tries various models
• AI runs the queries to see if it solves my problem
• AI gives me the solution

Japan's Fifth Generation Computer

“The objective was a machine with three major components: a problem solving and inference processing unit; a knowledge base management system; and an intelligent interface,” (1982)

TL;DR

• A Brain
• A memory
• A Voice and Senses

Lofty Goals

• Using Natural Language Processing and massive databases
• Understand human problems
• Make models
• Test models
• Relate answer

Hardware

• Parallelization not optimized yet
• Space is expensive (size and money)
• Single-core getting faster
• Slow, large, expensive

None of it up to the job

Software

• Natural Language Processing immature
• Modeled after human relational thought
• Large enough stored information

None of them up to the job

Failure kills motivation

Accidental

• Writing Code
• Running the code
• Having enough time or money
• Modeled after humans

Essential

• Requirement Solicitation
• Problem solving

Contemporary

5GLs & AI 

Ein Wunderwaffe

Software

• Narrow AI is omnipresent
  • Google Results
  • Navigation rerouting
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Targeted Ads
• IBMs Watson (General AI)
  • Uses Prolog!!!

Hardware

• Distributed Systems
  • Bigger Brain
• The Internet
  • More Memories
• Human-Interface-Devices
  • Better than ever

Some thoughts on modern AI

• BG: "I don’t understand why some people are not concerned"
• SH: "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race."
• EM: "AI is much more advanced than people realize. It would be fairly obvious if you saw a robot walking around talking and behaving like a person... What's not obvious is a huge server bank in a vault somewhere with an intelligence that's potentially vastly greatly than what a human mind can do. "

An AI that writes software?

http://www.primaryobjects.com/2013/01/27/using-artificial-intelligence-to-write-self-modifying-improving-programs/

What next?

• Temper Expectations
• AI beyond humans is coming
• There is no reason to think writing software can only be done by humans
• Keep writing software until such a time!

Before

• Hardware lacking
• Software lacking

Now

• Hardware better
• AI genepool bigger
• Hobbyists make software that writes software