Svetlin Nakov: Today, the Fight for Freedom Is Fought in the Digital World
Svetlin Nakov, the founder of SoftUni, can talk about today's (and tomorrow's) computer world for hours. Engagingly and knowledgeably, with a sense of humor and real insight. Here is what he has to tell us.
02Blockchain Keeps Us Connected…
Bitcoin has been in the headlines for quite a few years now… but do we know what the technology behind it actually is? What else could blockchain be good for? For example… helping to create a new form of democracy?
03The Day Programmers Stopped Writing Code
In just one month, some of the undisputed authorities from different generations and corners of the computer world rallied behind the same idea. Today, humans no longer need to write computer code, because artificial intelligence already does it better than we do. This Digital Story matters not only to the tens of millions of programmers but also because it is a powerful example. It is unfolding in the software world, but there is no reason it won't repeat itself in every other field where AI is arriving more slowly, yet just as relentlessly. Maybe it's time to “get off” our keyboards. But… what do we take up then? What will programmers do when they no longer write code?
04“Hard to Be a God”: What Do Bulgaria's Tech Leaders Read?
Do the people who drive the world of information technology forward actually read? They read like there's no tomorrow, and you're in for a surprise. Time for a very important and very bookish experiment: I asked 15 leading figures from different corners of the Bulgarian computer world to name their three favorite books and tell me why they would recommend them. Is it hard to be a god? A question for connoisseurs. And why is it hard?
05The Superhuman: “The Little Seed of Positive Doubt”
“The Superhuman” is a podcast that got ahead of the trend, offering deep, enriching conversations united by the search for inner fulfillment: long, meaningful audio and video interviews from which every guest stands to gain. Georgi Nenov’s project is an oasis free of politics, propaganda, hate and division. But how did Georgi’s seemingly accidental path to “The Superhuman” begin, what gives him the strength to keep finding new superhumans who will inspire still more people to take a different path, and what is the power of a good example and of “the little seed of positive doubt”?
06“The Hunger for IT Specialists Will Keep Growing for a Long Time”
Ivaylo Hristov is the creator of dev.bg, the venture that lets software specialists keep their watches in sync and easily find work where they feel at home. He knows very well how much that matters: he walked away from a dream job at Microsoft to start his own venture, which became a serious success. Which Bulgarian software companies are poised for a breakthrough, where are we strong and where do we lag behind, and how did programming go from an exotic pastime to the most sought-after career in just 20 years?
07China's Social Credit System: Orwell's 1984 or the State of the Future?
You can hear terrifying things about China's social credit system. People start with 100 points, and if they drop below 35, life is practically over for them—they can't find a job, and their friends aren't supposed to talk to them… But is that really how it is? We set out in search of objective information in the rift between heavy-duty propaganda machines…
08Where Did All the Hate Come From? Is There a Way Out?
I've read the headline, and I already hold an extreme opinion. Time for a nasty comment—let the hating begin! But where did all this aggression come from, why must we answer rudely even when we merely disagree with the person behind the other profile, and is there any way to save ourselves from the exhausting hate of online conversation?
09Will Artificial Intelligence Take Programmers' Bread?
Could artificial intelligence put programmers out on the street in the foreseeable future? Today it is a particularly promising time to enter the profession, but will that still be true once algorithms get better at writing code? The question came up loudly with the launch of GitHub Copilot, yet it runs much deeper and is far more interesting. We have gathered plenty of arguments for and against, and we leave the answer to you.
