Note – This blog is a summary of the Youtube podcast i did with YT channel DevStandup. If you would like to watch video version instead click here. (Also embedded at end of this blog)

So last month i was invited as a guest speaker for a youtube podcast & present some learnings & key take away’s to developer and devops. I was bit hesitant in the beginning as its been a decade since i’ve worked hands on technology so wasn’t sure if i have bring anything to table.

Nevertheless, after some discussions i agreed and did some self retrospection and some analysis to prepare for the same.

Here are some interesting facts and takeaways i shared during the YT podcast.

The minuscule time of Tech revolution vs other revolutions in the past.

Did you know that:

• Just ca. 1000 generations ago our ancestors were learning to make fire?
  
• Just 10 gen’s ago when most of them moved to big cities, they started using calculators.(yes the first tech.)
  
• Fast forward to today, just 2-3 gen’s ago first computer was invented and the first software program called manchester baby ran on it.

If we zoom out and look at the picture as a whole, you can see how minuscule period of time latest Technological revolution(as we call it) today existed.

& fast forward few generations from today this Tech. revolution will be a thing of past.

Takeaway 1 – The problem of instant gratification.

let’s admit we humans love to solve problem’s, and we want to solve them fast. This has definitely the case in software industry. All the tech. folks i have had interacted want to jump asap to solutioning phase.

Dopamine kick and the urge of Instant gratification perhaps. :)

This does comes at a price. Some estimates say, 80% of all IT projects fail or never achieve its outcomes.

If only we could spend a bit more in the problem finding, it would help solve right problems. Below framework from design thinking is a great eg. of how to spend more time on finding the right problem before finding the the right solution.

Takeaway 2 – Cogito, ergo Sum.

Translated to I think, therefore I am. This was said by Descartes who was a renowned 16th century philosopher.

Little did he knew that in just 4 centuries, we humans will create almost another thinking species. which will be much faster and correct than us.

Over recent years there have been numerous use cases of AI, specially in software development. But we should remember that AI is just another tool trained on the data set it has been trained on. & It can only help with all the knowledge gained for data sets. But it doesn’t know what it don’t know.

So next time you before you totally outsource your development to an AI tool, pause and think. You are still the only thinking species on this planet atleast.

I CODE, THEREFORE I AM RESPONSIBLE.

Takeaway 3 – The modern trolley problem – When your code makes the (wrong) choice!

So the classic trolley problem, was a thought experiment run in 1960’s when a human was given to choice between 2 bad outcomes. Standing on a train track with a lever he can divert the train to track A where 5 ppl. will get killed or Track B where 1 person gets kill. which option would you choose?

In modern day, there is a digital twist to this problem. The lever is in the hands of a code or AI based algo. There are mission critical systems being built and the lever to choose from is in the hand of AI.

If presented with option – Will they choose to install latest software to improve security for most of users OR break the functionality/features used by selected few logged in users?

Who will be responsible in either case?

Takeaway 4 – You build it, you run it.

When Verner vogels, CTO of amazon said this in last decade, this did make sense. The number of cyber security breaches and impact it can cause was limited and could be controlled by human good hackers force.

Now, with AI backed state actors its a double edged sword.

• 40,000+ new vulnerabilities last year.

• 1.7 billion stolen credentials circulating on the dark web.

• Ransomware as a Service is booming market. Never have been it was easier to

It is utmost importance that you as developer or devops has security by design as utmost importance.

In summary:

By using design thinking frameworks like double diamond you can save billions of dollars and project from failing.

Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend, first 4 sharpening the axe. – Lincoln

By shifting security to left you can save mission critical projects(read lives) and infrastructure.

You can either fix it on drawing board with eraser or with sledge hammer on construction site.”

Thanks for reading,
Love and Peace,
//Chakshu Arora

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