August 14 Column: The Purpose of Computing
Early in my career as a programmer, I was working on a
project that required using some mathematical techniques from the text, “Numerical Methods for Scientists and
Engineers” by R. W. Hamming.
I have forgotten which methods I
actually used but remember vividly his inscription: “The Purpose of computing
is Insight, not Numbers.” That was a cautionary aphorism because all of the
software being developed at that time produced pounds and pounds of paper
filled with columns of numbers and it was easy to lose sight of the real
purpose: to gain insight into the solution of some problem.
Today, it seems that picture has radically changed. Computer
systems are no longer behemoths filling whole rooms with dedicated cooling
systems requiring a staff of operators and programmers. They have evolved into much much faster,
smaller machines that can be used by everyone from pre-teens to seniors. In a
sense, computers have been democratized and socialized --- their power now
flows directly into the hands of the people. This is a Good Thing, right? Maybe yes, maybe no. First we must ask
ourselves what is the purpose that computers fulfill in our society. Is
Hamming’s insight still valid? Well, modern computers certainly make oodles of
information available to us via the Internet and one could reasonably argue
that we can use this information to gain insights into problems ranging from
medical advice to how to get into and out of kayaks. On the other hand, we can also access informational distractions
(e.g. gossip, pornography, etc.) whose only purpose is to provide us with a diversion from boredom.
For example, I recently attended a wedding and the group at
our table were swapping ideas for summer reading. I had recently heard a radio discussion of a book that I had
not yet read but sounded intriguing --- it was about a future where most all
forms of cancer had been cured which, on its face, sounds like another Good
Thing, right? Wrong! The novel elaborates some of the unintended consequences
of this event which include destructive bands of jobless young men harassing
the new cohort of older people who are not retiring to make room for the next
generation because cancer has been cured
and most everyone is living longer. Unfortunately I could not remember the
title or the author of the book. However I did remember that the author was
also a movie actor and producer who reminded me of the comedian Al Franken and
that he had appeared in a movie with Holly Hunter with the title, “Network
News” or something like that and that he usually played the role of a loser. While
I was sharing these rambling thoughts my niece was using Google on her iPhone and had already found
the author and the title of the book: “2030”, by Albert Brooks.
My question is: what insight had been gained from this
process? It did scratch the itch of curiosity
and it did provide the practical information needed to access the book in
question but what did we learn and how did we change for the better? Perhaps this
is asking too much from a mere machine but surely we expect more from ourselves. Does our
computer technology actually promote a sort of mental laziness? And if it does, should
we update Hamming’s aphorism to “The purpose of computing is titillation not
insight” ?
I think not. According
to Jaron Lanier, author of “You are not a Gadget”, the purpose of digital
technology is to enrich human interaction. In one sense, the human interaction
at our wedding table was enhanced by the digital technology of Google and the
iPhone via the Internet. It did scratch the itch of curiosity and it did
provide the practical information needed to access the book in question but
only in a shallow way.
If the computer is to become a partner in our evolution, it will have to
enhance our existence beyond petty pandering to our desire to alleviate ennui.
It will have to provide us with more than arousing diversions. To mashup
Hamming and Lanier, “The purpose of any technology is to enhance our
humanity, not degrade it.”
