Well then, it is time to start expressing myself in a different way.
The software industry—and the professions concerned with designing systems and shaping interactions between people and machines—is changing rapidly. There are many reasons for this, and the race toward AI is only one of them. For many people, these changes bring uncertainty, anxiety, and sometimes unemployment. I am hardly an exception.
At the same time, I suspect that my rather niche experience working with professional systems in complex domains such as maritime operations, healthcare, and industry may offer a somewhat different perspective on what is happening.
Part of me is optimistic about the future. Part of me is concerned that some capabilities of AI are being overestimated while others are being underestimated—so it is mostly people who raise the risks. And, of course, AI is only one of many factors that shape the design of complex systems.
This is not my first attempt at writing. This time, however, I want to focus primarily on a question that occupies my thoughts: where are we heading with the design of complex systems in safety-critical and risk-intensive domains? For decades, we have been designing systems built around people and machines. Now there is something in between—non-deterministic systems, AI agents. They introduce new possibilities, new assumptions, new failure modes, and a great deal of uncertainty. I find that worth reflecting on.
There are many other subjects that interest me as well, but there is no need to get ahead of ourselves.
Perhaps this should eventually become something more conversational, more visual, or even more interactive. For now, though, time is limited, and I am not entirely convinced that my enthusiasm will survive contact with reality. So an old-fashioned blog will have to do.
Let’s see where it leads.