james@yetti.UUCP (James Pierre Lewis) (11/19/86)
York University
Department of Computer Science
Faculty of Arts
Distinguished Lecture Series
Professor David L. Parnas
Queen's University, Kingston
"Why SDI Software Cannot Be Trustworthy"
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Date: January 9, 1987
Place: Senate Chambers, S915 Ross Building
ABSTRACT
In March 1983 U.S. President Reagan asked scientists to develop a
system that would free us from the fear of nuclear weapons by making
strategic missiles impotent and obsolete. In response, the Department
of Defense formed the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization to
investigate the possibility of such a system. This talk presents the
speaker's reasons for resigning from an SDIO advisory panel. It
presents (a) the reasons that we are unable to build software that is
right the first time that it is used, (b) the aspects of the "Star
Wars" problem that make it especially difficult from a software point
of view, (c) the reasons that certain new software technologies will
not make it possible to build a trustworthy software system for SDI,
(d) the flaws in the counterarguments proposed by SDI proponents.
The talk is technical and will not discuss political or strategic
aspects of SDI. However, deep knowledge of computer science is not
required.
This talk sheds some light on the general question of the limitations
on what we can do with computers.
DIRECTIONS TO YORK UNIVERSITY
CAMPUS BY CAR: From Highway 401 take the Keele Street exit, go north
on Keele about 4km to St. Lawrence Blvd. and turn left into the campus.
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Take the University/Spadina subway to Wilson then take
York University bus #106.