Mustafa foundation’s Observatory magazine covers tomorrow’s technologies today
In its latest issue, Observatory magazine, published by the Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation, explores the seismic changes underway in software engineering, spotlighting the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the way software is built, maintained, and understood.
Published by the Nasim Observatory at the Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation, Observatory not only explains the mechanisms behind major scientific achievements by leading global researchers in simple terms, but also sheds light on the transformative future those breakthroughs may bring.
The second issue spans a wide range of scientific advances—from tissue engineering and drug-delivery nanoparticles to mechanisms behind multiple sclerosis progression, exploration of brine reservoirs, and the exotic role of triquark particles in quantum physics.
Through interviews with the scientists behind these discoveries and accessible visual content, the magazine aims to both enhance public understanding of the scientific concepts and foster interdisciplinary research among scholars.
The April edition features a thought-provoking article by leading researcher Ahmad Hassan, examining how AI is reshaping the software landscape.
One of the articles in this issue is titled ‘On the Verge of a Historical Turning Point in Software Evolution.’ Full text follows below:
In a world where technology advances at a breakneck pace, software has become the beating heart of digital transformation. Ahmad Hassan, one of the most influential researchers in software engineering, is exploring artificial intelligence, new revolutionary ways software is built, maintained, and optimized. Using artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that can make programming faster, smarter, and less error-prone. In the near future, artificial intelligence will not only help programmers, but it also will turn itself into a skilled programmer, available to the general public. It can even connect natural language and program code, making codes easier to write and understand.
Software with millions of users
Ultra-Large Scale Software Systems (ULSS) are those that make the world go round. They allow us to get millions of results in less than a second when we google or recommend contents to one another as we scroll on Instagram or Facebook. These platforms all run on ULSS. Extremely large software systems operate on a global scale, serving millions of users around the clock. They include Google (a search engine that processes billions of requests in real-time), Facebook (a social network in which users from all over the world interact with each other), and Visa (a financial transaction processing system that manages millions of purchases every second). These systems, which serve millions of users daily require uninterrupted, nonstop operation.
Software development, faster than ever
Today, artificial intelligence can play a role in all stages of software development, from production and improvement to processes. Until just a few years ago, the only way to write a program was through programmers. But in 2023, Garter announced that artificial intelligence in software engineering has attracted a lot of attention, which means that in the near future, all software will be developed with the help of artificial intelligence, and the pace of software development will accelerate. Hassan believes that AI will not replace programmers but that it will empower them, much like a friend would. A can make software development processes faster and more efficient. Other uses of this field include automatically detecting errors at the time of coding, suggesting more optimized codes, and automatically writing parts of the code. The implication of this for technology companies is that they will be able to produce software faster, cheaper, and of higher quality.