Automated discovery and exploitation of architectural flaws is merely the next step in the evolution of software. For the past few years we have been witness to a 'whack-a-mole' type of dynamic in the field of computational security. Exploits are published, a day later they become a Metasploit module, and a day after that anybody in the world can use it on everyone else in the world at the click of a mouse. If you are a full time sys-admin plugged into all the advisory mechanisms you may, for a time, be able to keep your systems patched, but the machines never sleep, they never blink, they never forget, and apparently, they never die.<p>In the race against time, it is fair to say at this point that the machines have won. It may not be completely obvious yet, in the way that a tidal wave out at sea is only a small hump under your individual ship, but when it comes ashore, when the confluence of terrain and massive liquid power becomes manifest, then, of course, it is obvious.<p>What appears to be happening is a kind of terra-forming activity, a new software layer is spreading, one that has the keys to everything - our social lives, our morning cup of coffee, our cars.. our nukes.<p>This has an end condition, of course - and that is the total loss of control over our technological infrastructure.