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Why traditional software only automates things that are easy to explain

a16z Podcasta16z Podcast · Balaji & Benedict Evans: When Tech Breaks Industries

“The slide is that traditional software is deterministic and does things that are easy to explain to machines.”

18:05 / 18:30

The slide is that traditional software is deterministic and does things that are easy to explain to machines. In fact, automation, machine tools, sewing machines, typewriters, adding machines Right. Things that are easy to explain to a computer. There may be things that are very hard for people to to to do, but they're easy to explain. So it's hard for you to drill a hole a 100 times or or to calculate a mortgage in your head, but it's easy for you to write down the logical steps to explain how you do this. So that's traditional software, like databases,

About this clip

The speaker distinguishes between traditional software and newer technologies by explaining that traditional automation works on tasks that are logically explainable to machines, even if they're difficult for humans to execute. Examples include drilling precise holes or calculating mortgages - hard to do manually but easy to program with clear steps.

Why this clip

Provides a clear mental model for understanding the fundamental difference between traditional deterministic software and more advanced technologies.

18:05 - 18:3025sframework
automationsoftware-developmentmachine-logic

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