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CSE Colloquium: “From Syntax to Taste”

October 16 @ 2:40 pm – 3:45 pm
Free
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Presenter: Titus Winters, Adobe

Abstract:

Computing education has long emphasized intelligence, knowing how a thing works, over wisdom, knowing when to use it. We teach syntax, functional correctness, and the internals of classic data structures, while giving students little guidance on tradeoffs, quality, and judgment. Generative AI makes this old critique urgent: source code is becoming a secondary artifact, and competent implementation is available on tap. This talk argues that the skills now at a premium are design before code generation and testing after it, both of which rest on conceptual vocabulary, architectural judgment, and domain knowledge. It considers what this means for curricula: assuming AI use, grading process over output, replacing single-right-answer assignments with open-ended ones, and deciding what we are willing to stop teaching. Absent that reinvention, CS risks becoming a service discipline rather than the center of computing education.

Bio: 

Titus is a Senior Principal Scientist at Adobe, focusing on Developer Experience. He has served on the C++ standards committee, chairing the working group for the design and evolution of the C++ standard library. He has also served on the ACM/IEEE/AAAI CS2023 steering committee, helping set curriculum requirements for Computer Science undergraduate degrees, focusing on the requirements for software engineering. Titus was a thought leader at Google for many years, focusing on C++, software engineering practice, technical debt, and culture. He is the lead author for the book Software Engineering at Google.

Hosted by: Professor Daniel Fremont and Professor Leilani Gilpin

Date and Time: Fridays from 2:40 pm – 3:45 pm

(The CSE Social will take place after the Colloquium until 5:30 pm)

Location: Engineering 2, Room E2-180 (Refreshments such as fruit, pastries, coffee, and tea will be provided.)

Zoom Option: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/95300285113?pwd=62tnEPUtRrsmbW7SHTavaRbaF2afSr.1

 

 

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Room Number
E2-180

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