AI companies announce progress converting legacy code
The Verge: Can AI help solve the COBOL code crisis?
A computer running COBOL 73, an antiquated computer programming language, awaits taxpayer information entries at the Internal Revenue Service in Austin, Tx., on Friday, June 10, 2022. | Image: Getty Images What do the IRS, banks, airlines, and government infrastructure around the world have in common? They're all running on systems propped up by antique computer code that nobody dares touch, lest everything come crashing down. OpenAI thinks it may have a solution. On October 19t
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AI companies have announced improvements in their models' ability to convert old computer code written in legacy programming languages into modern code. This matters because critical infrastructure worldwide, including banking systems, government agencies, and airlines, still relies on decades-old programming languages that are difficult and risky to replace, with one estimate putting the annual cost of inefficiencies at around $105 billion to the US GDP. However, experts caution that while AI has made progress, converting code is fundamentally different from replacing entire complex systems that involve multiple programming languages, various data formats, integrations with other systems, and documentation that often no longer exists. The main challenge remains understanding how these ancient systems actually work rather than simply rewriting their code.
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