Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
blog.miguelgrinberg.com
Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
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Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#2> It takes me at least the same amount of time to review code not written by me than it would take me to write the code myself, if not more.
As someone who uses Claude Code heavily, this is spot on.
LLMs are great, but I find the more I cede control to them, the longer it takes to actually ship the code.
I’ve found that the main benefit for me so far is the reduction of RSI symptoms, whereas the actual time savings are mostly over exaggerated (even if it feels faster in the moment).
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#3I get confused when I see stances like this, because it gives me the sense that maybe people just aren't using coding tools efficiently.
90% of my usage of Copilot is just fancy autocomplete: I know exactly what I want, and as I'm typing out the line of code it finishes it off for me. Or, I have a rough idea of the syntax I need to use a specific package that I use once every few months, and it helps remind me what the syntax is, because once I see it I know it's right. This usage isn't really glamorous, but it does save me tiny bits of time in terms of literal typing, or a simple search I might need to do. Articles like this make me wonder if people who don't like coding tools are trying to copy and paste huge blocks of code; of course it's slower.
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#4I think there's a key context difference here in play which is that AI tools aren't better than an expert on the language and code base that is being written. But the problem is that most software isn't written by such experts. It's written by people with very hazy knowledge of the domain and only partial knowledge of the languages and frameworks they are using. Getting it to be stylistically consistent or 100% optimal is far from the main problem. In these contexts AI is a huge help, I find.
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#5> It takes me at least the same amount of time to review code not written by me than it would take me to write the code myself, if not more. As someone who uses Claude Code heavily, this is spot on. LLMs are great, but I find the more I cede control to them, the longer it takes to actually ship the code. I’ve found that the main benefit for me so far is the reduction of RSI symptoms, whereas the actual time savings a…
Is anybody doing cool hybrid interfaces? I don't actually want to do everything in conversational English, believe it or not.
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#6Will we be having these conversations for the next decade?
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#7"do not work for me", I believe, is the key message here. I think a lot of AI companies have crafted their tools such that adoption has increased as the tools and the output got better. But there will always be a few stragglers, non-normative types, or situations where the AI agent is just not suitable.
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#8I just don't agree with this. I am generally telling the model how to do the work according to an architecture I specify using technology I understand. The hardest part for me in reviewing someone else's code is understanding their overall solution and how everything fits together as it's not likely to be exactly the way I would have structured the code or solved the problem. However, with an LLM it generally isn't since we have pre-agreed upon a solution path. If that is not what is happening than likely you are letting the model get too far ahead.
There are other times when I am building a stand-alone tool and am fine wiht whatever it wants to do because it's not something I plan to maintain and its functional correctness is self-evident. In that case I don't even review what it's doing unless it's stuck. This is more actual vibe code. This isn't something I would do for something I am integrating into a larger system but will for something like a cli tool that I use to enhance my workflow.
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#9Everyone is still thinking about this problem the wrong way. If you are still running one agent, on one project at a time, yes, its not going to be all that helpful if you are already a fast, solid coder.
Run three, run five. Prompt with voice annotation. Run them when normally you need a cognitive break. Run them while you watch netflix on another screen. Have them do TDD. Use an orchestrator. So many more options.
I feel like another problem is deep down most developers hate debugging other people's code and thats effectively what this is at times. It doesn't matter if your Associate ran off and saved you 50k lines of typing, you would still rather do it yourself than debug the code.
I would give you grave warnings, telling you the time is nigh, adapt or die, etc, but it doesn't matter. Eventually these agents will be good enough that the results will surpass you even in simple one task at a time mode.
Re: Generative AI coding tools and agents do not work for me
#10I just don't agree with this. I am generally telling the model how to do the work according to an architecture I specify using technology I understand. The hardest part for me in reviewing someone else's code is understanding their overall solution and how everything fits together as it's not likely to be exactly the way I would have structured the code or solved the problem. However, with an LLM it generally isn't s…
You can pre-agree on a solution path with human engineers too, with a similar effect.