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We mourn our craft

nolanlawson.com

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Re: We mourn our craft

#11

Post by lp4v4n »

People have to stop talking like LLMs solved programming.

If you're someone with a background in Computer Science, you should know that we have formal languages for a reason, and that natural language is not as precise as a programming language.

But anyway we're peek AI hype, hitting the top on HN is worth more than a reasonable take, reasonableness doesn't sell after all.

So here we're seeing yet another text about how the world of software was solved by AI and being a developer is an artifact of the past.

Re: We mourn our craft

#12

Post by oytis »

Write a blog post promoting inevitability of AI in software development while acknowledging feelings of experienced software engineers.

Re: We mourn our craft

#13

Post by boobsbr »

AllegedAlec wrote: post #4

While I'm on the fence about LLMs there's something funny about seeing an industry of technologists tear their own hair out about how technology is destroying their jobs. We're the industry of "we'll automate your job away". Why are we so indignant when we do it to ourselves...

I never thought or felt myself as or my work as someone or something that "will automate your job away".

Re: We mourn our craft

#14

Post by ares623 »

AllegedAlec wrote: post #4

While I'm on the fence about LLMs there's something funny about seeing an industry of technologists tear their own hair out about how technology is destroying their jobs. We're the industry of "we'll automate your job away". Why are we so indignant when we do it to ourselves...

For me it's because the same tech is doing it to everyone else in a more effective way (i.e. artists especially). I'm an "art enjoyer" since I was a child and to see it decimated by people who I once looked up to is heartbreaking. Also, if it only affected software, I would've been happy to switch to a more artistic career, but welp there goes that plan.

Re: We mourn our craft

#15

Post by foobarian »

arrowsmith wrote: post #2

Speak for yourself. I don't miss writing code at all. Agentic engineering is much more fun. And this surprises me, because I used to love writing code. Back in my early days I can remember thinking "I can't believe I get paid for this". But now that I'm here I have no desire to go back. I, for one, welcome our new LLM overlords!

I had that same epiphany when I discovered AI is great at writing complicated shell command lines for me. I had a bit of an identity crisis right there because I thought I was an aspiring Unixhead neckbeard but in truth I hated the process. Especially the scavenger hunt of finding stuff in man pages.

Re: We mourn our craft

#16

Post by slibhb »

I get where this is coming from. But at the same, AI/LLMs are such an exciting development. As in "maybe I was wrong and the singularity wasn't bullshit". If nothing else, it's an interesting transition to live through.

Re: We mourn our craft

#17

Post by bobro »

AllegedAlec wrote: post #4

While I'm on the fence about LLMs there's something funny about seeing an industry of technologists tear their own hair out about how technology is destroying their jobs. We're the industry of "we'll automate your job away". Why are we so indignant when we do it to ourselves...

How do you read this article and hear indigence? It’s clearly someone grieving something personal about their own relationship with the technology.

Re: We mourn our craft

#18

Post by cfloyd »

I fall in the demographic discussed in the article but I’ve approached this with as much pragmatism as I can muster. I view this as a tool to help improve me as a developer. Sure there will be those of us who do not stay ahead (is that even possible?) of the curve and get swallowed up but technology has had this affect on many careers in the past. They just change into something different and sometimes better. It’s about being willing to change with it.

Re: We mourn our craft

#20

Post by ALoverOfLats »

zamalek wrote: post #8
AllegedAlec wrote: post #4

While I'm on the fence about LLMs there's something funny about seeing an industry of technologists tear their own hair out about how technology is destroying their jobs. We're the industry of "we'll automate your job away". Why are we so indignant when we do it to ourselves...

This article isn't really about losing a job. Coding is a passion for some of us. It's similar to artists and diffusion, the only difference being that many people can appreciate human art - but who (outside of us) cares that a human wrote the code?

Huge tangent but curiosity is killing me: By any chance is your username based on the Egyptian football club Zamalek?
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