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Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

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Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#21

Post by rchaud »

We definitely need a "slow news" type of publication that analyzes developments in AI with a critical eye:

- Who does this move the needle for? How does it compare to how things are done now?

- How does the regular person benefit, if at all?

- What's likely to happen to pricing after the initial investor subsidization end? What does the price history of other 'unicorns' tell us? Airbnb and Uber used to be cheap once too.

- What is the valuation of "AI-first Company X" based on? Who are the insiders and what is their work background?

Too much AI news today is just parroting corporate press releases and CEO keynotes.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#22

Post by thor_molecules »

I think there is a bit of cognitive dissonance that comes with trying to build stuff with LLM technology.

LLM’s are inherently non-deterministic. In my anecdotal experience, most software boils down to an attempt to codify some sort of descision tree into automation that can produce a reliable result. So the “reliable” part isn’t there yet (and may never be?).

Then you have the problem of motivation. Where is the motivation to get better at what you do when your manager just wants you to babysit copilot and skim over diffs as quickly as possible?

Not a great epoch for being a tech worker right imo.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#23

Post by 000ooo000 »

000ooo000 wrote: post #19

I hate hearing about it because it triggers some anxiety about my role (SE) changing to the point where it's not something I have any interest in. Producing software in the corporate world is absolutely soul draining; endless meetings, direction from fools, overheads like mandatory compliance/learning, all of the rituals that come and go because someone with authority read some garbage on LinkedIn. Besides pay, the o…

As not to take up another top-level post: I am also quite bored of people sharing anything created with AI. I remember when I first saw the AI Jerry Seinfeld video; I was genuinely surprised/amused at what AI was capable of. It's all completely uninteresting now, though. I have friends (some in IT..) sending me scores that ChatGPT awarded them based on what ChatGPT 'thinks' their moral value is. It seems some are completely taken by the appearance of intelligence.

It has at least been interesting to me to reflect on how I can still appreciate media that humans make when I find AI media so repulsive. I did not think I cared so much about what was behind the picture or video I was watching, or that someone spent real effort to make something. To be honest I still don't understand it - maybe it's none of those things.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#24

Post by 000ooo000 »

thor_molecules wrote: post #22

I think there is a bit of cognitive dissonance that comes with trying to build stuff with LLM technology. LLM’s are inherently non-deterministic. In my anecdotal experience, most software boils down to an attempt to codify some sort of descision tree into automation that can produce a reliable result. So the “reliable” part isn’t there yet (and may never be?). Then you have the problem of motivation. Where is the mot…

>LLM’s are inherently non-deterministic.

I'm not an ML guy but I was curious about this recently. There is some parameter that can be tuned to produce determinism but currently it also produces worse results. Big [citation needed], but worth a google if it's of interest. Otherwise in agreement with your post.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#25

Post by throwaway12345t »

georgemcbay wrote: post #14

I'm more bemused than burnt out... kinda surprised the hype around it doesn't get called out more often by developers. LLMs as coding assistants are undeniably time saving devices, especially when working in languages/libraries/platforms/frameworks you aren't already very familiar with, or when needing to generate something very boilerplatey as a one-off. I am not calling the technology useless by any stretch of the…

On that last note, very weird that it’s now nuked from HN. Guess I’m glad I posted from a throwaway

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#26

Post by array4277 »

As someone with a history of pathological demand avoidance: fuck your AI, I don't care if it's good or not, I'm never going to use it as long as it's being artificially hyped by increasingly unhinged idiots who are desperate for a return on their trillion dollar random word generator.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#27

Post by paulyy_y »

ju8aka wrote: post #20

I use it every day, I feel like I'm managing a team, I no longer do boring tasks, I control the result, I refine, I correct, the thing must do 80% of my work, their only limit is memory, it's quite exhausting to compensate. My timeline pours me a torrent of news every week that no longer seems to say only one thing: "we will replace you" and astronomical MRRs that tell me hurry up, it's the same FOMO as crypto except…

[flagged]

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#28

Post by agarren »

> It feels disingenuous but even companies I know and respect are adding questionable “agent” features that rarely work.

Word. I’m not a huge Microsoft fan, but it feels like they’re just shoving ChatGPT/copilot down your throat every chance they get. It’s integrated into everything - it’s useful when it’s useful, okay, but it generally isn’t. It’s one more Microsoft’ism that you have to learn to tolerate or simply ignore.

I can’t tell if Nadella’s really betting the farm on it all, or if he’s just trying to leave his mark.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#29

Post by agarren »

000ooo000 wrote: post #24
thor_molecules wrote: post #22

I think there is a bit of cognitive dissonance that comes with trying to build stuff with LLM technology. LLM’s are inherently non-deterministic. In my anecdotal experience, most software boils down to an attempt to codify some sort of descision tree into automation that can produce a reliable result. So the “reliable” part isn’t there yet (and may never be?). Then you have the problem of motivation. Where is the mot…

>LLM’s are inherently non-deterministic. I'm not an ML guy but I was curious about this recently. There is some parameter that can be tuned to produce determinism but currently it also produces worse results. Big [citation needed], but worth a google if it's of interest. Otherwise in agreement with your post.

Temperature? Definitely tweaks the results…but I don’t know if “deterministic” is a term you can use in any way, shape, or form, in the context of LLMs.

https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/llm-temperature

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else burnt out on AI?

#30

Post by paulcole »

GlacierFox wrote: post #12
paulcole wrote: post #8

No. I use it constantly and get a ton of value out of it.

Me too but I'm sick of the sight of it filling up my news feeds and mind-space.

Damn can’t believe AI still gets into your line of sight when you shut your computer off and stop staring at your phone.
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