Friday Hacks #305: Applied Research in the age of AI & C++ as an interpreted language

​Friday Hacks, by NUS Hackers, is a weekly event where invited speakers share their technical experiences and interests! In this week's session, we have:

Talk 1: C++ as an interpreted language

​Many would tell you that C++ is a compiled language, but did you know that it is interpreted as well? In this talk, we explore the growing compile-time support of C++. From templates, to the 3 constexpr, consteval & constinit, and exploring C++26’s additions too. Along the way, we’ll find out what the compiler won’t let you get away with, and what happens when you push it too far. No reflections for the scope of this talk…

​Speaker Profile:

​James has been a C++ hobbyist for the last year, who actively explores corners of the standard. He spoke at CppCon this year on how to utilise C++26 Reflections, and is happy to talk about C++ anytime :)

​Talk 2: Applied Research in the age of AI

​In the past few months, we’ve seen AI make astounding breakthroughs across nearly all domains of Science - solving problems previously thought to be beyond the reach of mere next-token predictors. But, what about research involving real-world problems that may not have verifiable proofs? How do we integrate AI, with its infinite wisdom and infinite sycophancy, as part of such research workflows? What does applied research look like now?

​Speaker Profile:

​Devansh graduated as valedictorian of NUS School of Computing in 2025, and was part of the NUS Hackers coreteam as an undergraduate. He currently works as a quantitative trader-researcher at Optiver, where he develops systematic trading strategies.

​📍 COM3 SR12
🍕🧋will be served!