Paul Cantrell @inthehands@hachyderm.io
Public

Holy shit.

Just wow, wow, holy shit:

Completely rewriting a multi-million line COBOL codebase that has life-or-death consequences for real people in the space of a few months, using gen AI?

I’ve been writing software for 40-some years, and I have to say: this may be, without exaggeration, the stupidest software-related idea I’ve ever heard from leadership.

wired.com/story/doge-rebuild-s

DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase In Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse

Social Security systems contain tens of millions of lines of code written in COBOL, an archaic programming language. Safely rewriting that code would take years—DOGE wants it done in months.

www.wired.com · WIRED

Paul Cantrell @inthehands@hachyderm.io
Public

I urge you to listen to the riveting and wonderful radio feature about what happens when you try to build a make-or-break project on a ridiculously tight timeline:

99percentinvisible.org/episode

The page has summary text, but listen if you can. I’ve heard very few instances of a developer speaking so candidly and with such self-awareness about what it feels like to be part of a failing software project.

Listen. Then imagine that instead of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, it’s social security for the entire USA.

The Worst Video Game Ever - 99% Invisible

Deep within the National Museum of American History’s vaults is a battered Atari case containing what’s known as “the worst video game of all time.” The game is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and it was so bad that not even the might of Steven Spielberg could save it. It was so loathsome that all remaining copies

99percentinvisible.org · 99% Invisible

0
0
0

If you have a fediverse account, you can quote this note from your own instance. Search https://hachyderm.io/users/inthehands/statuses/114241082265391728 on your instance and quote it. (Note that quoting is not supported in Mastodon.)