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On Wed, 16 Feb 2000, Ron Peterson wrote: > I do think that there is one significant difference between radio and > computers. The function of a radio hasn't really changed much. A > computer, on the other hand, is really just a machine we use to build > *other* virtual machines. And while computers are getting cheaper, they > are also getting more powerful. Therefore, the number of things we use > them for will increase in number in complexity. Yes, computers are general purpose machines, where radios aren't. Makes them harder to manage. > What do you think? Will the profession of managing computers blossom? > Or wither? In the near future (say, a decade), I don't see any threat to sysadmins. It may well be that, as computers and computer science become more advanced, they may be able to do a lot of work that we do, reducing the need for lower-level sysadmins, but until a REAL thinking machine is built, we're still required. One of the job functions sysadmins have that is often overlooked is to come up with solutions to new and interesting problems that crop up in the course of doing business (this is sometimes called ad-hackery, but doesn't necessarily need to have a derogatory meaning). Until AI is a reality (which I hope it never is, but I suspect some idiot will figure it out eventually), you will need sysadmins. As for why I hope AI is never achieved, it's exactly what you're talking about. Once machines can be made to think better and faster than humans, the humans become obsolete, and we all end up flipping burgers at MacDonalds. Not what I want to do. Call me pessimistic (or paranoid, insane, whatever else you like) if you want to, but I don't think movies like the Matrix or Terminator are that far off the mark. -- "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" "Who watches the watchmen?" -Juvenal, Satires, VI, 347 Derek D. Martin | Senior UNIX Systems/Network Administrator Arris Interactive | A Nortel Company derekm at mediaone.net | dmartin at ne.arris-i.com ------------------------------------------------- - Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" on the first line of the message body to discuss-request at blu.org (Subject line is ignored).
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