GPT-3 and verification

Summary: This post talks about GPT-3, a new Machine Learning (ML) system currently making waves in the ML community. It explains why GPT-3 is a big deal, and then considers the verification implications of such systems. One way to look at GPT-3 (and the even-bigger GPT-4, GPT-5 etc. which are sure to follow) is as … More GPT-3 and verification

Dynamic verification in one picture

Summary: This post tries to summarize what dynamic verification is, using a single picture. It then puts various verification tools, and diverse verification projects, in the context of that picture. It also explains Coverage Driven Verification (CDV). The Foretellix blog is about verifying complex systems. However, as I discussed here, there is no agreed-upon verification … More Dynamic verification in one picture

Is a Universal Verification Framework possible?

Summary: This post investigates the (slightly crazy) idea of creating “one universal verification framework for everything”, and claims that while the goal itself is probably impossible (for now), some interesting and worthwhile sub-goals are perhaps possible. As many people (including myself) have discussed before, there is no single “verification community”: there are really many verification … More Is a Universal Verification Framework possible?

The soup of systems

In a previous post I discussed verification vs. validation, and claimed that: This is a valuable distinction for a specific subsystem, but (in any complex system) this is a subsystem-relative concept, not an absolute one (as in “one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor”). I was reminded by some readers that this view (“real systems … More The soup of systems

A breakfast discussion about simulations for transportation policy decision making

I had a breakfast discussion about this simulation-for-transportation-policies with two friends of mine who have been looking into similar topics for years:  Nadav Levy and Itzhak Benenson of Tel Aviv Univ. This was triggered by my post about a related topic. Here are the main things I learned during breakfast: They are interested in policies like: … More A breakfast discussion about simulations for transportation policy decision making

Also from Stuttgart: Using simulation for public policy decision making

This somewhat-unexpected topic came up in several offline conversations during the Stuttgart symposium On day 1, I had a discussion with a guy who gave the lecture “Impact of driverless mobility on vehicle development and testing” (Thomas delos Santos, CEO, Innovative Mobility Automobile GmbH, Germany). His is a small consultancy house which consults e.g. cities … More Also from Stuttgart: Using simulation for public policy decision making