Live data from Hacker News

Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

kyrylo.org

31–40 of 150 posts

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#31
post #17
post #9

The rise of tools like Cursor reminds me of the Industrial Revolution in France. When machines first appeared in factories, unskilled workers who didn’t understand how they operated often got injured - sometimes quite literally losing fingers. But for skilled craftsmen, these machines became force multipliers, dramatically increasing productivity and improving overall living standards. The same applies to software de…

But the usual way of learning the craft is broken. Experienced developers will now work with AI instead of hiring junior developers. Some exceptional individuals might still learn on their own, but the path from junior to senior, learning by doing, could vanish. That's my worry.

Probably too B&W. But I’ve had a lot of discussion about this recently and the general consensus is that there’s something to it—especially developers who just got into the field solely because it’s where they thought the money was.

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#33
post #6

If you spend time on places that attract newbie programmers (some subreddits focused on game dev or game engines, for example) you’ll see the outcome of “I no longer think you should learn to code.” And it’s not pretty. Many, many posts of people looking for help fixing AI-generated code because the AI got it wrong and they have no idea what the code even does. Much of the time the problem is simply an invented metho…

I have played around wit AI code from time to time. I do not code routinely but I have pet personal projects that allow me to do some code and this is where I experimented. Rule number 1 and the only rule: You need to be a subject matter expert. Be it program logic or be it programming language. AI is only a helper, it will go wrong, frequently, and if you do not understand the reason for the code and the programming…

I like to think of AI as a force (or skill) multiplier. If you’re low skill, it doesn’t do much. The higher your skill, the more useful it is.

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#34
post #5

Using LLMs to write code is a waste. If its rote code or boilerplate it sucks at writing it consistently. If its novel code, it's not in its training set. What LLMs don't suck as much is writing semi readable docs and commit messages.

Your understanding of LLMs is wrong. Please read https://www.anthropic.com/news/tracing-thoughts-language-mod...

Respectfully his understanding of LLMs have nothing to do with the paper you linked.

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#35
post #6

If you spend time on places that attract newbie programmers (some subreddits focused on game dev or game engines, for example) you’ll see the outcome of “I no longer think you should learn to code.” And it’s not pretty. Many, many posts of people looking for help fixing AI-generated code because the AI got it wrong and they have no idea what the code even does. Much of the time the problem is simply an invented metho…

Subreddits focused on gamedev have long stopped being about the craft itself, unfortunately.

90% of the posts are about marketing or are self-help/motivational.

Anything related to art, sound or programming barely gets upvotes.

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#36
post #35
post #6

If you spend time on places that attract newbie programmers (some subreddits focused on game dev or game engines, for example) you’ll see the outcome of “I no longer think you should learn to code.” And it’s not pretty. Many, many posts of people looking for help fixing AI-generated code because the AI got it wrong and they have no idea what the code even does. Much of the time the problem is simply an invented metho…

Subreddits focused on gamedev have long stopped being about the craft itself, unfortunately. 90% of the posts are about marketing or are self-help/motivational. Anything related to art, sound or programming barely gets upvotes.

Browse by new though and you’ll see it. Post after post with zero comments about questions or problems that are answered in the docs.

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#37
post #35
post #6

If you spend time on places that attract newbie programmers (some subreddits focused on game dev or game engines, for example) you’ll see the outcome of “I no longer think you should learn to code.” And it’s not pretty. Many, many posts of people looking for help fixing AI-generated code because the AI got it wrong and they have no idea what the code even does. Much of the time the problem is simply an invented metho…

Subreddits focused on gamedev have long stopped being about the craft itself, unfortunately. 90% of the posts are about marketing or are self-help/motivational. Anything related to art, sound or programming barely gets upvotes.

The other side effect to that is the difficulty to socialize, albeit online, with those who care about the craft itself.

To paraphrase a meme "best I can do is text editor wars".

Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better

#40
post #6

If you spend time on places that attract newbie programmers (some subreddits focused on game dev or game engines, for example) you’ll see the outcome of “I no longer think you should learn to code.” And it’s not pretty. Many, many posts of people looking for help fixing AI-generated code because the AI got it wrong and they have no idea what the code even does. Much of the time the problem is simply an invented metho…

vibe coding is overrated. The good sequence is: learn to code, then vibe code when possible. Vibe coding is a trap for junior software engineers. https://www.lycee.ai/blog/why-vibe-coding-is-overrated
Post reply on HN