Grady Booch maps computing's six limits — and says ethics is OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI's present problem
Grady_Booch · x · 2026-11-01
Software engineering pioneer Grady Booch published a layered diagram tracing computing's boundaries: physics, algorithms, architecture, organizations, economics, and finally the human/legal/ethical layer — with computer science covering the first two and software engineering spanning further.
He walks through each layer: thermodynamics constrains chip design and nothing transmits information faster than light; turning theory into effective algorithms requires discovery (FFT, Viterbi, transformers); assembling systems at scale exceeds the sum of parts; globally enduring systems demand teams; viability costs money and investors demand returns; and not everything that can be done should be done.
Booch argues these latter legal, ethical and moral questions are the "clear and present problems" facing OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI. How it unfolds? Time will tell.
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