The Evolution of Programming: From Open Access to Proprietary Control
By
yeputons
Kettled twice. Extra chewy, extra trustworthy.
Summary
The article is a think piece reflecting on how programming and software development have evolved from being freely accessible and community-driven to becoming increasingly proprietary and controlled. The author expresses concern about the rise of private, powerful AI tools like Mythos (a private LLM capable of finding zero-day vulnerabilities) that are being kept from public access, contrasting this with the historical openness of programming. The piece explores the philosophical shift from programming as a free, creative endeavor to one dominated by corporate control and proprietary systems, examining the implications for innovation, accessibility, and the future of software development.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledThe appearance of Mythos – a private LLM allegedly capable of finding a multitude of 0-days – has made people concerned about being denied powerful tools.
I have a related, intimate worry regarding LLMs. Just so that we're clear, it's not a common critique from the anti-AI crowd, like ethics or quality.
Programming used to be free – not just in the sense of cost, but in the sense of freedom, accessibility, and community-driven development.
This seems to be a turning point in the mainstream discourse, and it motivated me to complete the think piece I've been meaning to write for a while.
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