Dependable software: an oxymoron?

Summary form only given. Can software really be made dependable? And if it was, would we be able to recognize it? For the last two years, the author had been chairing a study of the National Academy of Sciences on dependable software, and have had the opportunity to hear - in a workshop held last year, and in open sessions of the committee - anecdotes and viewpoints that have often surprised him. The conclusions of the committee are not made public until the final report is out. In this talk, therefore, some of the things heard are shared, and draw some connections to requirements engineering.