When they can write AI to understand and implement the entire US tax system, then I’ll start worrying about the incoming AI apocalypse they’re always taking about.
That's assuming the poor thing doesn't choose to immediately self terminate.
IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
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Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#12Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. --Will Rogers
Source: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/will_rogers_128073
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#13> Since Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives in 2010, their partisan attacks have left the IRS with nearly 10,000 fewer customer service representatives to assist taxpayers and a patchwork of IT systems, some dating back to the Kennedy Administration, which is ultimately harming all taxpayers,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., told Nextgov. So the patchwork 1960s-era systems are the fault of Republic…
If you look again, you will see the charge is that there are now 10k fewer first line support workers who previously could help citizens and (for some reason) the legacy hardware.
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#14When they can write AI to understand and implement the entire US tax system, then I’ll start worrying about the incoming AI apocalypse they’re always taking about.
More than likely, it will shoot back a question: "Why the hell did you make this so complex?"
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#15> Since Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives in 2010, their partisan attacks have left the IRS with nearly 10,000 fewer customer service representatives to assist taxpayers and a patchwork of IT systems, some dating back to the Kennedy Administration, which is ultimately harming all taxpayers,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., told Nextgov. So the patchwork 1960s-era systems are the fault of Republic…
The real question is why we have a tax system that would need 10,000 additional customer support reps. The problem isn’t a lack of reps, it’s a system that requires that many reps.
The flat tax, file-on-a-postcard system proposed by 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz was mocked by the establishment because it seemed tha politicians on both sides have a vested interest in a complex tax code — it is the means by which politicians derive their power. See Milton Freidman on the subject:
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#16Fun (scary) fact – significant portions of the IRS tax system is still written in assembly. It's basically the original codebase plus 40 years of additions and patches as the tax code changed. They were working on projects to "elevate" it to Java, because it's pretty difficult to maintain it as-is.
How are they retaining staff with the skill-set to maintain that code?
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#17Fun (scary) fact – significant portions of the IRS tax system is still written in assembly. It's basically the original codebase plus 40 years of additions and patches as the tax code changed. They were working on projects to "elevate" it to Java, because it's pretty difficult to maintain it as-is.
How are they retaining staff with the skill-set to maintain that code?
Its tough to recruit for, so you really end up with folks who have job security for the forseeable future and others who become retired-in-place because of the rarity of cleared folks eligible to take on the post.
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#18Something that the kids of IT today will never learn:
Never replace anything unless the thing doing the replacing is better than the thing being replaced.
The IRS' IT "upgrade" is just a huge money grab. Nobody has the slightest interest or desire to do anything properly - they simply want in on that lucrative IRS money.
It's like the saying: "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." Likewise, the kind of people who are bidding on this project are certainly not the kind of people that should ever be allowed anywhere near the IRS' computer systems.
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#19When they can write AI to understand and implement the entire US tax system, then I’ll start worrying about the incoming AI apocalypse they’re always taking about.
More than likely, it will shoot back a question: "Why the hell did you make this so complex?"
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to file"
Re: IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware
#20Next time they do this they might want to trying testing out the new system before putting it into production.