JDK 24 Features: New Enhancements in Java 24 Release

The next version of standard Java, packed with two dozen features, has entered the release candidate stage. The production release is due in March.

The next version of standard Java, packed with two dozen features, has entered the release candidate stage. The production release is due in March. Java Development Kit (JDK) 24 has entered the release candidate stage. The next version of standard Java will ship with 24 features, ranging from a class-file API to a fourth preview of […]

The Biggest Ideas in Software and Tech Today: AI, Quantum, and Beyond

AI on the cusp Artificial intelligence surged in 2024, with killer apps like conversational AI, natural language processing, code and image generation, and more. But is the current moment a high-water mark or just a way station? Will the new era of AI-driven tech crash or continue, and what are the limits of AI? Some speculate that we are entering a phase where machine learning will be constrained not by architectures and compute resources, but by the amount of raw data that’s available. After all, modern AI is all about taking massive samples of data and creating probability engines. Those data samples have to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the sum-total output of human creativity available on the Internet. It’s possible we are entering a kind of autophagy, moving our data output and input toward stasis. AI can of course generate its own content, which means it can create its own new training material. But here is where we start to explore the boundaries between synthetic and creative imagination. How much recombination can be done without the organic spark of inspiration that reveals genius, in the old-fashioned sense of the word?

Astonishing breakthroughs fueled by AI, agentic AI, quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces, and decentralized finance are on the horizon. One of the coolest things about being a software developer is that you often know what’s behind the curtain. To some extent, at least. Working in tech gives you the chance to know first-hand what a neural network is, […]