It is hot today in Montreal, so let me play my favorite game: (mis)predicting the future (2025).
- If the past is any guide, we shall still program using Java, JavaScript, C, SQL, and so forth. Linux will still be everywhere.
- Using libraries or web services, almost anyone will be able to build a simple application with human-level speech or image recognition, cheaply and quickly. And I do mean “almost anyone” as in “any reasonably smart kid in high school”.
- Processors with 2 or 4 cores will look antiquated. Basic computer systems (at least in the cloud) will be made of hundreds of cores.
- Whereas storage is currently nearly infinite in practice, in 2025, memory will be nearly infinite in the sense that programmers will not worry much about running out of memory, even on mobile devices. However, you will only able to access a fraction of this memory per second with any single core.
- Though we shall still have silicon-based processors, some other technology will be taking over… maybe something esoteric like carbon nanotubes.