Live data from Hacker News

AI Is Making Developers Dumb

eli.cx

51–60 of 234 posts

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#51

I've had a similar experience. I built out a feature using an LLM and then found the library it must have been "taking" the code from, so what I ended up was a much worse mangled version of what already existed, had I taken the time to properly research. I've now fully gone back to just getting it to prototype functions for me in-editor based off comments, and I do the rest. Setting up AI pipelines with rule files an…

You’re exactly right on the rage part, and that’s not something I’ve seen discussed enough.

Maybe it’s the fact that you know you could do it better in less time that drives the frustration. For a junior dev, perhaps that frustration is worth it because there’s a perception that the AI is still more likely to be saving them time?

I’m only tolerating this because of the potential for long term improvement. If it just stayed like it is now, I wouldn’t touch it again. Or I’d find something else to do with my time, because it turns an enjoyable profession into a stressful agonizing experience.

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#52

> Some people might not enjoy writing their own code. If that’s the case, as harsh as it may seem, I would say that they’re trying to work in a field that isn’t for them Conversely: Some people want to insist that writing code 10x slower is the right way to do things, that horses were always better, more dependable than cares, and that nobody would want to step into one of those flying monstrosities. And they may als…

> Some people want to insist that writing code 10x slower is the right way to do things

If the code has to be correct, then this is right

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#54

Here is a disturbing look at what the absolute knobs at Y Combinator (and elsewhere) are preaching/pushing, with commentary from Primeagen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riyh_CIshTs Watch the whole thing, it's hilarious. Eventually these venture capitalists are forced to acknowledge that LLM-dependent developers do not develop an understanding and hit a ceiling. They call it "good enough". The use of LLMs for const…

[dead]

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#55
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think is the big difference between these tools and calculators?

Calculators do not accept ambiguous instructions and they work 100% of the time.

>> Calculators do not accept ambiguous instructions and they work 100% of the time.

That is stated with a lot of confidence :)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43066953 https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/resources/example... https://matheducators.stackexchange.com/questions/27702/what...

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#57
Honestly I just don’t remember the names of methods and without my IDE I’d be a lot less productive than I am now. Are IDEs a problem?

The bit about “people don’t really know how things work anymore”: my friend I grew up programming in assembly, I’ve modified the kernel on games consoles. Nobody around me knocking out their C# and their typescript has any idea how these things work. Like I can name the people in the campus that do.

LLMs are a useful tool. Learn to use them to increase your productivity or be left behind.

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#58

I've had a similar experience. I built out a feature using an LLM and then found the library it must have been "taking" the code from, so what I ended up was a much worse mangled version of what already existed, had I taken the time to properly research. I've now fully gone back to just getting it to prototype functions for me in-editor based off comments, and I do the rest. Setting up AI pipelines with rule files an…

Is it just me or has this been a year or two off for at least a year or two now?

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#59
post #8

That's probably the mechanism by which AI will take over many jobs: 1. Skilled people do a good job, AI does a not-so-good job. 2. AI users get dumbed down so they can't do any better. Mediocrity normalized. 3. Replace the AI users with AI.

It’s always been very weird that little hobbyist open source projects produce much better software than billions dollar companies. But I guess it will be even more notable now that the billion dollar garbage shoveling companies are getting self-operating shovels.

Re: AI Is Making Developers Dumb

#60
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this scenario, if AI does a not so good job, there will still be good developers left to code.

Maybe. It might be that the “industry” continues on without good code, slowly dying.

If bad code could kill the software industry, it would be long dead by now.
Post reply on HN