Embracing Computation: Understanding the World through Machines

The text explores the pervasive presence of computation in our daily lives and the way our understanding of the world is influenced by computational processes. The author describes how they feel the presence of machines and computational processes, from programming a computer to the translation of languages using machine learning. The text emphasizes the connection between randomness and computation, highlighting how recent advances in machine learning have enabled us to manage complexity and randomness in various domains. Ultimately, it encourages readers to embrace different ways of understanding the world, whether through music, algebra, computation, biology, or other perspectives.

• The author reflects on their early experiences with computers and programming, highlighting how they felt the presence of the machine even before physically interacting with it.
• The text discusses the computational perspective on processes like mailing a letter and the concept of randomness, drawing connections to complex computational processes that underlie seemingly random phenomena.
• It explores the formal connection between randomness and mathematical functions, as well as the recent progress in using machine learning to manage randomness and complexity, particularly in tasks like language translation.
• The text emphasizes the role of machine learning in managing randomness and complexity, while acknowledging the limitations and challenges in areas such as reasoning tasks.