Is Software the Result of Top-Down Intelligent Design or Evolution? Considering the potential danger to individuals of rapid coevolution.

The author argues that software technologies are evolving, or co-evolving with human culture, versus software engineers having full control over their designs. Topics include the influence of previous software programs and cultural forces on the development of new software, the influence of human de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Communications of the ACM Vol. 61; no. 9; pp. 34 - 37
Main Author:	Lee, Edward A.
Format:	Article
Published:	Association for Computing Machinery Sep2018
Subjects:	Computer software development Technological innovations Software engineers Intelligent design (Teleology) Human-artificial intelligence interaction
Online Access:	View this record in EBSCOhost

Description
Summary:	The author argues that software technologies are evolving, or co-evolving with human culture, versus software engineers having full control over their designs. Topics include the influence of previous software programs and cultural forces on the development of new software, the influence of human decision making on the evolution of software programs, and concerns regarding human reliance on intelligent machines.