AI

I used GitHub Copilot to help create a custom dark theme for a MkDocs Material site. Copilot did a good job interpreting CSS selectors (the rules that target specific HTML elements for styling), but the resulting theme’s accessibility was poor. Even when I nudged it toward better choices, some text ended up barely readable with low contrast to the background. I took this on as an experiment because I’m not great at choosing color palettes, the MkDocs Material theme exposes a lot of selectors for customization, and I’ve built a custom dark theme for MkDocs before and remember it being tricky. After sharing the experience on LinkedIn, I found I wasn’t alone. Others had run into similar issues but were able to improve things with trial and error. ...

SQL changed everything with one idea: describe what you want, not how to get it. SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > 25 No loops. No conditionals. Just intent. That idea, declare the goal and let the system figure out the implementation, is the core of Fourth Generation Languages (4GLs). SQL emerged from it in the 1970s and was commercialized alongside other 4GLs in the 1980s. GenAI takes the same arc further: natural language instead of SQL syntax, spanning every domain instead of just data. 4GLs democratized access to data. GenAI democratizes access to systems, and that difference is what makes both the promise and the threat real. ...

What if an AI monitored whether you followed all rules and laws that applied to you … and then acted on what it found? Not flagged for review. Acted. Put you on a no-fly list. Accused you of fraud. No human involved. That scenario is the subject of Jon Penney’s guest post on Bruce Schneier’s blog, AI and Micro-directives. Penney focuses on the legal risks to the targets of AI-based decisions, but the legal exposure cuts both directions. ...