Through the magic of software, information appliances connected to the highway will appear to learn from your interactions and will make suggestions to you. I call this “softer software.” Software allows hardware to perform a number of functions, but once the program is written, it stays the same. Softer software will appear to get smarter as you use it. It will learn about your requirements in pretty much the same way a human assistant does and, like a human assistant, will become more helpful as it learns around you and your work.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes: ”An agent … is a filter that has taken on a personality and seems to show initiative. An agent’s job is to assist you. In the Information Age, that means the agent is there to help you find information … Agents will know how to help you partly because the computer will remember your past activities. It will be able to find patterns of use that will help it work more effectively with you. Through the magic of software, information appliances connected to the highway will appear to learn from your interactions and will make suggestions to you. I call this ‘softer software.’ Software allows hardware to perform a number of functions, but once the program is written, it stays the same. Softer software will appear to get smarter as you use it. It will learn about your requirements in pretty much the same way a human assistant does and, like a human assistant, will become more helpful as it learns around you and your work. The first day a new assistant is on the job, you can’t simply ask him to format a document like another memo you wrote a few weeks ago. You can’t say, ‘Send a copy to everybody who should know about this.’ But over the course of months and years, the assistant becomes more valuable as he picks up on what is typical routine and how you like things done.”
Biography:Bill Gates, the most influential technology entrepreneur of the late 20th century, was the primary author of the prediction-packed 1995 book “The Road Ahead” and is the founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation. (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Language/Interface/Software
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 4: Applications and Appliances
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 83, 84
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne