Each month we pose questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our June featured reviewer, Boumediene Belkhouche.
Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?
A) Technological advances (for example, cloud infrastructure, processing power, sensing) provided the necessary platform for the large-scale development and deployment of computing applications (for example, machine learning, data science, cloud/edge computing, blockchain, computer vision, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, personal assistants). These applications have effectively generalized digital modeling to society at large, thus accelerating the digital transformation. Yet most of the general public sees only the wonders of these applications, unaware of what makes them tick. That is, these wonders are the manifestations of advances in computing systems (software and hardware).
Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?
A) In high school, I enjoyed very much history, literature (specifically poetry), and geography. I craved learning about other places, other people, and ancient times. I am still fascinated by these topics as they relate to society. Outside computer science, and specifically nowadays, I would dedicate my time to gain a humanistic understanding of the current state of affairs of our society, and hopefully share this understanding with others.
Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?
A) On the one hand, machine learning will face its litmus test to prove whether it is indeed artificial intelligence (AI) or just a sophisticated predictive statistics. On the other hand, computer science will take us beyond science fiction. It will continue the digital transformation by blurring the real and the virtual, allowing us to naturally move in and out. It will also provide all the tools for tyrants to subjugate their people. As for me, I am working on the notion of primitive learning, that is, a natural state in which infants and toddlers acquire knowledge effortlessly. I would like to develop a virtual environment that will give them more joy in their instinctive and continuous search for knowledge.
Q) What is your favorite type of music?
A) I enjoy a wide spectrum of music, whether it is “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Sound of Silence,” “Carolina in My Mind,” or The Four Seasons. I also enjoy classical Algerian music, called Andalusian music, which originated in Andalusia at the end of the first millennium and is the first model of symphonic music.
Click here to read one of Boumediene’s highlighted reviews.
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