Valentin C.
@fasterthanlime About programming itself (as designed with Github Copilot) : it alters the way I'm thinking by providing input before I do. It's very frustrating, but maybe it's only me, or a lack of experience, or a bad design.
Programming is not just "pissing" code. A huge part is about constantly learning, and teaching is not someone (human or AI) showing us the response. It would maybe work for low grade ESN, but I wouldn't advise people to go this path to progress in the field.
Valentin C.
@fasterthanlime Definitely. It's again the same arguments as decades ago when machines replaced most humans in factories. Maybe the society doesn't provide a good living path for a part of the population (and actually that's the issue), but sticking to some bad jobs isn't better.
I'm not entirely convinced on LLM for programming (yet ?), but there's certainly some value in it (at which cost ?) if we take it for what it is : a versatile, flexible, fallible tool.
fasterthanlime 🌌
Defending "every single bit of labor should be done by hand and we should protect those jobs" does not make you a compassionate human being.
Dissociating basic human rights (shelter, food, health care) from "having a job" does. The EU has a bit of a lead there — it's a start.
fasterthanlime 🌌
It's a bit disheartening to be put in the same camp as tech bros milking VC funding from whichever current trend is happening.
I'm aggressively trying to stay current /as a matter of survival/. If I'm gonna live in the torment nexus, I may as well make myself at home.
fasterthanlime 🌌
The problem with technology replacing labor is not jobs becoming obsolete.
The problem is that society reacts to "jobs becoming obsolete" not by "redistributing wealth and lowering overall work" but by stripping people of homes, health insurance, and food.
fasterthanlime 🌌
Would anyone argue that trains are a net negative for society because it put stagecoach drivers out of a job?
It feels different now because we can see people lose jobs in real time, and I have zero faith in society for handling this transition well. But it's happening.
fasterthanlime 🌌
All the architectural decisions should be made by humans. Humans are in the driver's seat, always.
I don't give a shit about the "my 8yo built a React app" demos (maybe I will when I have an 8yo?). I care about senior developers being able to think at a higher level.
fasterthanlime 🌌
I'm fairly sure I alienated part of my audience by "not shitting unconditionally on LLMs" and, well, too bad?
What's happening to artists is vile and I will commission art as much as I can. What's happening to developers is exciting: you can build so much on your own now!
fasterthanlime 🌌
I do believe there are domains where LLMs are /completely useless/: domains where you have to think hard about every little bit of every little line and every little detail matters.
And I'm kinda jealous of people working in those domains. Those are the exception.
fasterthanlime 🌌
Most folks work in boilerplate-heavy environments.
You can write macros, you can do codegen, you can use types or use dynamic typing to reduce repetition, there's still a lot of things that "a whole bunch of weights" can figure out for you, filling in the outline you created.
fasterthanlime 🌌
Things I agree with:
- there's an AI bubble
- many uses of "AI" are shit/vile/immoral
- LLMs are bad at many things (counting etc.)
- LLM output /must/ be human-reviewed
- the copyright/labor question remains open
And:
- current-gen LLMs are a tremendous tool for programming
fasterthanlime 🌌
LLMs bridge the gap whenever repetition is needed, whenever you need to "draw the rest of the fucking owl".
If you can read/review/validate faster than you can write all these details (maybe you have RSI?), then LLMs are valuable.
fasterthanlime 🌌
Wonder how long we’ll get “LLMs do nothing for productivity” takes from folks who have ~zero first-hand experience with current-day solutions.
I respect y’all a lot, but come on.
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