The Future of Programming in the Age of AI
Tools that generate code automatically using LLMs are already in widespread use. But the impressive results we’ve seen so far are usually restricted either to very small apps, or to small components of larger apps. Professor Jackson argues that even as LLMs grow in their power and flexibility, these limitations will not change fundamentally.
What’s needed is a new design strategy—a new way to structure code and move from problems to solutions—that will enable entire apps to be built, with LLMs playing a role more like compilers than coding assistants. Prof. Jackson will tell you about some progress made in this direction, and will explore some of its implications for the future: how it will reshape the whole business of software development, changing how software is built and who builds it.
About Daniel Jackson
Daniel Jackson is professor of computer science at MIT, and associate director of CSAIL. For his research in software, he won the ACM SIGSOFT Impact Award, the ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Awardand was made an ACM Fellow.
He is the lead designer of the Alloy modeling language, and author of Software Abstractions. He chaired a National Academies study on software dependability, and has collaborated on software projects with NASA on air-traffic control, with Massachusetts General Hospital on proton therapy, and with Toyota on autonomous cars (for which he has two patents pending). His most recent book, The Essence of Software, proposes a new way to think about software design.
Jackson has consulted for many companies, including Accenture, AIG, AT&T, Fujitsu and Teradyne. He has mentored startups for the Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, and has given talks to developers worldwide. Developers from 500 companies have watched his videos on UX design, and more than 2,000 students have taken his courses on programming and software design at MIT.
About Byte Bites
Byte Bites are informal gatherings open to CSAIL Alliances members and students who would like to attend a discussion on a current project. Most lunches or afternoon teas will feature a Faculty Researcher but a few will feature a PhD student, post-doc or Research Scientist.
