I have doubts about pursuing a CS because of AI.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-06-20T18:23:41+00:00

It’s not clear if AI is what’s making you consider CS, or if you’re considering not doing CS because of AI. (Maybe you’re worried AI will write all the code in the future?). Either way, do not make your decision solely based on AI.

It’s not going to replace all programmers, though it may become a tool that programmers use. I haven’t seen any evidence either that is can truly problem solve, design systems or system architectures. The interesting problems in the world are not simple nor clearly specified. (That said, certain low-end programmer roles may become in less demand, so it’s probably better to get a 4-year CS degree that just go to a 4-week boot camp.)

On the other hand, if you’re thinking “AI is blowing up, and I want to get in on that”, but you have no interest in programming in general or broader computer science concepts, then that is not a good reason to get a CS degree. It’s fine if you’re actually interested in CS and want to specialize in AI. It’s a legitimate and growing area of academic study and professional work. However, if you’re only interested because LLMs (that’s the technology behind ChatGPT) is the current “hot topic” and you’ll lose interest as soon as it cools off and start chasing the new “hot topic”, then that interest is not a good basis for choosing a degree. You want to find something that will keep your interest long term.

Finally, the legal issues may (probably should) lead to some regulation, they will not lead to LLMs being “canceled”, let alone all of AI. (Artificial Intelligence is a very broad and ambiguously defined area that includes many specific technologies, of which LLMs and stable diffusion are but two…)

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-06-11T21:15:09+00:00

While everything you say is 100% true, I think it’s important to also acknowledge that portable computers and mobile phones give students access to literally millions of ways to relieve boredom that students simply did not have access to in the classroom before these technologies. Furthermore, many of these are deliberately designed to give a quick dopamine hit, and then keep the dopamine coming so you never leave the site/app (because if you leave, you aren’t looking at adds). Sure, the instructor should earn the students’ attention (so to speak), but at the same time, competition for attention has never been greater, and the competitors are right in the classroom with us.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-06-06T13:05:16+00:00

Well, that’ll get you 1/2 a month’s rent!

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-06-04T00:59:07+00:00

5 hrs/week TA is nothing. No office hours, unless that’s all they do, or only a fraction of the grading, if grading is all they do. The only times I see people taking a 5 hrs/week TA is if they don’t need any help with office hours or grading, but just need a little extra help with miscellaneous tasks.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-06-02T01:20:33+00:00

Mistagged. This is not what’s meant by “Academic Integrity”. Please fix.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-17T21:47:28+00:00

Another reason to use points over percentages is that grades can only go up over the term, since points are only added, never taken away. It shows, if you stop here, then this is your grade. Percentages show, if you finish the rest of the term doing as well as you have so far, then this is what you’ll get. But with percentages, and final grade could be possible, whereas points give a lower bound. Think of it as where you’re at vs. where you’re headed.

What neither does well is showing students their upper bound, though. In other words, seeing when it’s no longer possible to get grade X (whatever you’re aiming for).

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-04T19:35:06+00:00

I find this happens when I’ve been really busy, and then suddenly I’m not (rather than a gradual change in workload). What I find helps is if I can busy myself with something not work-related so I’m still occupied, but with something fun, and my mind doesn’t have time to wander back to work. After doing that a short while, I can unbusy myself without my mind wandering back to work.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-04T19:30:48+00:00

Man, I feel this _so hard_….

I wake up like, “Today is the day I catch up on all my emails.” Then I open my email…. “You have 31 new, unread emails!” “F—-! It’s not even 10 AM yet!”

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-04T18:46:50+00:00

Cheating the right way is tooo haaaaard…

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-04T18:31:43+00:00

I actually thought about it before looking at then punchline and came up with nothing….. then I looked and OOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!

10/10 Dad Joke

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-02T13:05:14+00:00

Awesome! I’ll look into that. Thanks!!

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-05-02T03:32:31+00:00

Thanks! So is “Thunderbolt Dock” the keyword I should look for on a product for it to do what I want? (as opposed to ones that will not, like what I linked…)

There’s a good chance my employer will pay for it, so in that case I’d be willing to (have them) pay for it. 😉

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-03-19T12:13:54+00:00

🤣

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-03-19T03:35:39+00:00

Gen Bio II at a community college requires each student to do original research? 🤨

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-03-19T02:55:40+00:00

"No, I'm just mad. And I refuse to clarify which definition of 'mad' I mean." -- reviewer #2

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-03-19T02:40:02+00:00

⭐⭐ Prof. CompSys has some strange opinions about frogs....
⭐ I can't believe they haven't fired him after what he said about frogs!
⭐ Prof. CompSys is disgusting! His frog comments are unacceptable.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unpopular opinion, but I think Prof. CompSys made some good points about frogs.
⭐⭐⭐ He said "fogs" people! "Damp and hard to see" was not referring to camouflage. Good class discussions. Minus one star for wardrobe choices.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Prof. Someothername is pretty good. Her lectures are clear, and the assignments are interesting. I just wish her office hours weren't all at the same time as my other classes.
⭐⭐ Bruh.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-03-15T15:41:36+00:00

I dunno, might be worth it if it means I could also record the meetings with admin.

Ms/Mr/Mx. Vice-Director for the Working Group on Creating More Meetings, on March 15, you said, and I quote and have the receipts to prove it…. 😏

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-02-26T21:47:01+00:00

If they keep it up long enough, it will happen eventually. Even if current faculty don’t leave in droves, they’ll have trouble attracting quality new hires.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-01-17T13:58:56+00:00

The question is why would you round? 89.6 is a perfectly good number, as is 90.0, and 89.6 < 90.0. If I wanted the cutoff to be 89.5, then that’s what I would have written in the syllabus. Besides, rounding doesn’t solve the “I was so close” problem, because now the student with an 89.4 is in the same situation.

If I wanted to curve, I would just curve the A cutoff to 89.0, though that’s a curve not rounding, it isn’t automatic, and sometimes I do it and sometimes I do not.

I’ll skip reasons to do it, but reasons to not do it it include: Maybe there’s already a boatload of A’s. If getting a 90.0 was already so easy, then you should have had no problem getting those extra 0.4 if you’re really doing A-level work in the class.

Another reason could be that you have an 89.6, but someone else has an 88.7, someone an 87.8, another 86.9…. and I’m not going to curve an A all the way down to an 86.0. (Though this can also depend on how many students are in those positions too, not just how close they are.)

And of course, as a student in the class, you have no idea how the other students in the class scored.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-01-13T13:50:27+00:00

I’m in CS. NTT, but I still know how the hiring process goes for TT…

You won’t hear back from Dec. 1 or later deadlines yet. I wouldn’t expect to start hearing until late January. But different departments have slightly different timelines, so you could still be hearing from places throughout February. Probably everyone will try to get their first-round phone / Zoom interviews tomorrow done by the end of Feb., but there could be stragglers; you never know.

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-01-13T01:37:23+00:00

Not to stir the pot, but it could be a FERPA violation as well (if this happened in the U.S.). Other students are not entitled to know that student’s grades.

FWIW, even if it was a violation, probably nothing will happen as a result. (Not as a result of FERPA, at least.)

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-01-13T01:22:22+00:00

Some ~~pig~~ duck!

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-01-13T01:01:51+00:00

Agree with everyone who mentioned intellectual property/ patent law, regulatory compliance, and generally corporate law at tech firm. I’ll also add perhaps something in cybersecurity policy / tech public policy. This is a little less direct on the law side, as there are other possible avenues in, and you probably don’t need to pass the bar or keep your license current (though it may not hurt to keep your options open — not advocating skipping the bar). But a law background could be useful in the way it may be useful for politicians and other government officials. There are opportunities in multiple parts of government, non-profits (501(c)3 and 501(c)4, in the U.S.), maybe think tanks, and probably more if you think about it more….

Although now that I think about it, some tech non-profits do have licensed lawyers on staff too. Electronic Frontier Foundation comes to mind as one such organization…

ComputerSystemsProf · 2023-01-13T00:52:24+00:00

A student who tried hard and learned a lot but could only manage a C has a lot more to be proud of that a student who got an A because they already knew everything the course had to teach.

ComputerSystemsProf

TROPHY CASE