Earlier quoted context omitted.
> unless you tell it in painstaking detail what to do and what to avoid, and never ask it to do a bigger job at a time than a single function or very small class. This is hyperbolic, but the general sentiment is accurate enough, at least for now. I've noticed a bimodal distribution of quality when using these tools. The people who approach the LLM from the lens of a combo architect & PM, do all the leg work, set up t…
I agree with your first paragraph but not the second one. In many cases it's easier for me to directly write the code that satisfies the unwritten acceptance criteria I have in my head than to write those criteria down in English, have an LLM turn them into code, and then have to carefully review that code to see if I forgot some detail that changes everything.
The acquaintances of mine who are absolutely *killing* it with these tools are very experienced, technically minded, product managers. They have an intimate knowledge of how to develop business requirements and how to convert them into high level technical specifications. They have enough technical knowledge to understand when someone is bullshitting them, and what the search space for the problem should be. Historically these people would lead teams of engineers to develop for them, and now they're sitting down and having LLMs crank out what they want in an afternoon. They no longer need engineers at all.
My contention is that people with that sort of skillset will have an advantage due to their experience with skills like finding product fit, identifying user needs, and defining business requirements.
Of course, the people I'm talking about were already killing it in the old paradigm too. I'll admit it's a bit of a unicorn skillset I'm describing.