MI6 Chief: We'll Be as Fluent in Python As We Are in Russian (theregister.com)
- Reference: 0180398801
- News link: https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/12/16/1949244/mi6-chief-well-be-as-fluent-in-python-as-we-are-in-russian
- Source link: https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/16/mi6_chief_well_be_as/
She warned that advanced technologies including AI, biotechnology and quantum computing are revolutionizing both economies and the reality of conflict. Metreweli focused particularly on threats from Russia, saying the country is testing the UK in the grey zone through cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, drones near sensitive sites and propaganda operations.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/16/mi6_chief_well_be_as/
Also MI6 Chief (Score:5, Funny)
We can't make head nor tail of C++ or Chinese. Not a clue.
As fluent as Russian? (Score:2)
Eto lish' pokazyvayet, naskol'ko plokho oni znayut russkiy yazyk.
She lost me (Score:1)
when she said quantum computing.
Ick! (Score:2)
I have been forced to work in Python again lately, which has only served to remind me how much I HATE Python! Remember that due to the GIL (Global Interpreter Lock) design, Python is inherently single threading, meaning anything they try to tell you about Python concurrency is a LIE! (I have a very slow BLE link that takes 120 milliseconds for each transaction, and I'm blaming one end of the connection being implemented in Python as the reason.)
Re: (Score:1)
you are a bit behind with your hate
[1]https://docs.python.org/3/what... [python.org]
[1] https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.14.html#whatsnew314-free-threaded-cpython
Re: (Score:2)
Many communication channels are fast in Python. Any communication channel can be messed up in any language.
Very similar (Score:2)
With both python and russian, people think they are a lot more fluent than they really are after several shots of vodka!
MI6 head should stick to what she knows. (Score:2)
Her comments on the nature of the threat from Russia and China are well put and stand up to analysis. That she was stating these things in public suggests that she wants the politicians to stop dithering and she is correct about that.
Her comments on tech seen naive. The tech world won't take her seriously and with good reason.
Fluent in Python (Score:2)
> a space between peace and war
Or perhaps a tab between peace and war.
Lead by Example. (Score:2)
> The new chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service told officers this week that they must become as fluent in programming languages like Python as they are in foreign languages like Russian.
Does MI6 understand not even the US Military is dumb enough to assume every foreign language linguist is also a programmer?
Step right up, Boss. Show the rest of us how it’s done.
It's all Greek to me. (Score:1)
It begs the question as to how fluent MI6 is in Russian.
Perhaps (Score:2)
Instead of people being fluent in both they could have one department focused on communication and another on creating their tooling? Keep people focussed on what they're good at?
Re: (Score:2)
Everybody has to be good at everything!
"required across the organization" is the key phrase here.
Re: (Score:2)
I think this statement comes from the tendency laypeople have of conflating computer languages and spoken ones. "Fluency" in python does not mean the same thing as it does in Russian.
Re: Perhaps (Score:2)
Problem is she should be far removed from being a layperson given her previous role was director general of technology and innovation.
Re: (Score:3)
and, interestingly, Python's main claim to fame is that it is easy to learn and understand for laypeople. Basically, the problem being solved here is one that Python's claim to fame is that it minimizes in the first place.
But hey, discounting expertise is what bureaucrats do best.
Re: (Score:2)
> I think this statement comes from the tendency laypeople have of conflating computer languages and spoken ones. "Fluency" in python does not mean the same thing as it does in Russian.
What if your Russian is bad enough to be mistaken for Python?
(Sorry. I voice-activated a compiler trying to speak like a John Wick villain once.)
Re: (Score:2)
The more I think about, the more I suspect that's what she means. I mean, not everyone who works for MI-6 understands Russian, right? I assume the qualifications for working there are a little more varied given Russia is not the only country they have to deal with, and just because someone's fluent in Russian doesn't make them generically helpful.
What I suspect she's saying is she wants the company organizationally more fluent in these things, not all individuals who work there.
Re: (Score:2)
> Instead of people being fluent in both they could have one department focused on communication and another on creating their tooling? Keep people focussed on what they're good at?
* Glances at completely separate US Military job designators for both linguists and programmers *
Those that know, know.
Those that don’t, soon will.
But I say let the Boss go first. Should be easy for the one demanding CrossFit-grade cross-training.