"Artificial Intelligence is the eternal quest of those who lack the real thing" -- The human species needs as much intelligence as it can get in order to sustain and improve it's quality of life. Developing the artificial intelligence is just half of the story, the other half is about integrating it into our lives and into our systems in a way that aims towards a perfect symbiosis and that is process will revermore equire a better understanding of the real world.
Software is aimed at meeting needs and improving our quality of life and thus it starts from the user and ends with the user. It must be functional, intuitive, responsive and reliable. Developing software means a lot more than writing readable and optimized code, it's about researching, planning, testing and providing support. Ultimately it's about understanding the users and focusing on their experience and satisfaction.
Today's software is alive and never sleeps. At its best, it is continuously integrated and delivered. Having a smooth development and delivery process in place will keep the business moving forward and the developers motivated. Choosing the right tools is the challenge of our time when languages, frameworks and containers are "fashionable" and complexity is growing exponentially.
A well oiled system will allow the company to concentrate on developing its products and delivering more value to the customers. The costs can easily go over the budget or the response times can increase too much without careful optimization of each part of the system. Often times the optimal solution is a custom mix of hardware, databases, caching and load-balancing.
A project needs a manager and a team needs a leader. The art of management becomes then to build a team that is self-sufficient and will require a minimum amount of management and leadership. Focusing on intrinsic motivation and a caring environment that embraces growth is the key to hiring the right people, instead of offering cheap perks.
The future is hackable and this is the drama of our generation. Be it personal, corporate or governmental, data must be protected and this can be easily overlooked when the competition is high and deadlines are tight. Strong security involves offline as much as online. It requires a "paranoid" mindset along with careful monitoring and constant updating.
Search engine optimization is about understanding the visitor and it's human nature. It involves structuring and emphasizing the content in such a way that is useful to the customer and readable to the robots. Optimization here means striking the right balance between man and machine. Advertising is crucial in the online world and also expensive. Lowering the costs of search engine marketing is a priority when talking about optimization.