On Human Value, AI, and Spam Finally, companies are taking steps to curb AI spam Ever since tools like Chat-GPT hit the scene, I have been sounding the alarm about the incoming flood of misinformation, spam, and clickbait content. It took a while for platforms and users to catch up, but we’re finally seeing a backlash against low-quality, AI-generated content. In March, Google announced that it is making changes to combat AI spam in search. They understand the threat to their business. People...
about 1 year ago • 4 min read
Advancing your Tech Career in the AI Era In the past year, I've seen an increasing number of people on social media fretting about the future of tech jobs in an AI world and whether it's even worth it to go into the field. The sensationalist, click-bait pieces from media and influencers haven't helped matters, so I figure it's time to take a few minutes and help people take a deep breath, calm down, and have a rational discussion about what is happening today and my prediction for what is...
over 1 year ago • 6 min read
As we enter 2024, it’s time to leave behind 2023. And I know I'm not the only one who is ready to move on, especially in the tech world. 2023 was an awful year for jobs, and even though we're not out of the woods yet, things are starting to look better. Here are some of my predictions for 2024 in AI, the job market, and web development. AI in 2024 The hype around Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undeniable, but towards the end of the year, we saw a rise in complaints about LLMs "getting...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
As we embrace the new year (I won't miss 2023!), I've been thinking a lot about artificial intelligence and what 2024 holds. Last year took a lot of people by surprise with a whirlwind of advancements and hype, but as with all technology, there comes a moment of equilibrium. Here are my key predictions for AI in 2024: A Plateau in Progress Remember how we'd all be riding in self-driving cars by now? In 1995, Carnegie Mellon researchers took their self-driving car, called NavLab 5, to the...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Just a short newsletter this week! This month, the NSA (National Security Agency) and the CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) released a white paper titled "The Case for Memory Safe Roadmaps" Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI). In the conclusion, they state: In a shared conclusion, the co-authoring agencies recommend software manufacturers create roadmaps for utilizing and transitioning to memory-safe programming languages. Specifically, they mention C#, Go, Java,...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
This week, I've been thinking about MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) and online content libraries. The Launch History I remember when sites such as edX, Coursera, and Udacity launched to great fanfare. Grand phrases like "democratizing education" and the ability to learn from "top professors worldwide" were tossed about. However, they failed, and the proof was and is in the completion rates, which typically run less than 7%. The same can be said of sites like Udemy and Skillshare, which...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
One of the big challenges beginning developers (and, let's be honest, experienced professionals as well) have is maintaining focus and productivity. One effective strategy I use is the Pomodoro Technique. This time management method, developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, is particularly beneficial for coding enthusiasts looking to optimize their learning and development process. How Pomodoro Works Pomodoro involves breaking down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Welcome to this week's newsletter! As I'm finishing the C# 302 module on data access in C#, I've been working with SQL and ORMs. ORM stands for Object-Relational Mapping, a technique that lets you use your programming language to manage a database instead of writing SQL code directly. Popular examples include Entity Framework for .NET and Hibernate for Java. ORMs have gained popularity for making database interactions more straightforward and less technical. Benefits of ORMs One of the...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
More Bootcamp Layoffs and Program Cancellations Today, I want to cover another dismal month for coding bootcamps and, as a former founder who left the space, give my observations on how they got here and where things are heading. Turing School Layoffs First, we have Turing School, which let 14 staff members go without notice. This drops their staff from 52 people at their peak to now 22 people. Once again, the staff were released without notice, and students working with those teachers were...
over 1 year ago • 4 min read