Do the advances mean anything though? Alan Kay is a personal hero of mine, I love the aesthetic of Smalltalk, and the dream-that-was once upon a time of such a system was a real missed opportunity for the evolution of programming environments. But is it anything more than a neat hobby at this point?
https://github.com/gavr123456789/Niva
An implementation of Boids for Niva:
https://github.com/pharo-pulsar/pulsar
Almost "Pharo for Gnome".
It could serve as the engine for new, fun, interactive websites!
(Smalltalk is a religion, I will die on this hill!)
One thing that AI programming has done is made me care much less what programming language is being used. This is slightly regrettable, but for the most part very freeing, as I don't need to worry about what language is easier for me (as a human) to use for a particular problem, or make me inclined to use one of my "pet" programming languages over one that may be a better fit for more pedestrian reasons.
wonks•34m ago