This is a nice idea, because it physically limits the place the child can call from. Even a very under-powered phone sets them free.

However, a new severely under-powered phone with no graphics or apps would probably meet the requirements of not being sucked into the grown-up world too early, and the kids can maintain their own contact lists.

And they'll grow super-fast thumbs like we had to in order to text :)

They cost about $50 but are still 4G.

Have you found a under powered phone that lets you lock down the Phone's incoming to an allow list?

That is the thing me (and most parent friends) want: freedom from spam calls and potential strangers.

"These look really random" - I hope I missed your sarcasm.

That is so far from random.

Think of tossing a coin and getting ten heads in a row.

The probability of not repeating numbers in 10 numbers out of 10 is huge, and not random.

Randomness is why there is about a 50% chance of 2 people in a class of about thirty having a birthday on the same day.

Apple had to nerf their random play in iPod because songs repeated a lot.

Randomness clusters, it doesn't evenly distribute across its range, or it's not random.

Oh yes, /s.

(I thought this was obvious and absolutely agree with your explanation.)

This is what I hate about people trusting it. If you rely on AI to operate in a domain you don't man-handle, you will be tricked, and hackers will take advantage.

"AI! Write me gambling software with true randomness, but a 20% return on average over 1000 games"

Who will this hurt? The players, the hackers or the company.

When you write gambling software, you must know the house wins, and it is unhackable.

This example isn't good, because (while I'm sure there would be security holes) ChatGPT writes a random number program fine.

I’m looking forward to the day for my AI agent to order a few dozen lava lamps to create true randomness.

A better example would be to use LLMs to generate passwords or secret keys. Then even if it looks random to human, the inherent bias would make it a security disaster.

You just went and created the worst example. The model knows how to create an rng, that's not it weakness. In fact, if you give it a random mcp it won't do that.

If you use AI to write a gambling software you run in production without reviewing the code or without a solid testing strategy to verify preferred odds, then I have a bridge to sell you.

Amen. An extreme example.

But what if you tasked with writing business-critical software and forced by your employer to use their AI code generation tool?

https://ai.plainenglish.io/amazons-ai-ultimatum-why-80-of-de...

Or using it with full access to your data and not knowing how it works? :)

https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-alignment-director-o...

I predict humans will take over most AI jobs in about ten years :)

I am not strictly entitled to answer this but I will just in case. (Language is a bit different in Australia.)

I completed a Bachelor CS degree in 1995. I think that's a "CS major program".

It was very theoretical, in that the languages we learnt were too old, too new, and not industry-led. So, Eiffel for OO, Cobol(!), and some proper maths thrown in.

It got me a solid 25 years of work.

After about a five year gap in software development as a job, I am now doing a Masters of Computer Science at the same place (by name alone, maybe) and the tech they teach is ten years old.

I'm not averse to this so far. I finish in a year, and I'll know if it was a waste of time to get back into the industry then.

However, I have done six of the twelve subjects and they ALL filled gaps in my understanding from both my original Bachelor and my work experience. I am a better programmer now.

I am currently in an interview process where I surprised myself with my own knowledge. YMMV of course.

Writing with a pen has a lot of unseen benefits.

Fine-motor skills connected to memory, etc.

Doesn't take much to find the science.

Also, avoiding interruption is good for your train of thought.

If a train of thought doesn't matter, then stay online and leave your phone able to interrupt you.

It's your "choice" (tm)

Seriously, try everything including the things you don't think will work for your sense of peace, so you know, IOWA (I over-worry always)

Peace to you all.

"But is this shift actually worth worrying about? Or are younger people just projecting their own anxieties about screen time onto their parents and grandparents?"

False dichotomies can either be the worst thing that happened to humankind or a pathway to a new way of understanding each other.

A formal way for a senior to tell AI (clueless junior) to do a senior's job? Once again, who checks and fixes the output code?

Of course an expert would throw it out and design/write it properly so they know it works.

I'm still using a 2010 Macbook Pro with a 1TB SSD for Logic Pro and Mainstage. Does it struggle? Yes. Does it work? Yes. It's still amazing technology that makes my keyboards and guitars sound bananas. To be fair, I just muck around with it, but it still has more than what I'll ever need or be able to discover.

This is tongue-in-cheek, but you spent years in management because "the thought of spending your life staring at a screen and dealing with insignificant minutia seemed horrible?" I need to read your management book!

It’s a lot of 1:1s and talking to people directly and strategy about setting up performant teams. I enjoy it way more and don’t spend a lot of time looking at screens.

Tried to play a free-for-all card game with blank cards with friends in a bar thirty years ago. It was too far out for the group. Writing the rules for a game during your own turn is pretty great. But if there isn't an improv idea of "and then" among the group the game won't work. It's certainly not about winning :)