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Not everyone is using AI for everything

gabrielweinberg.com

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Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#141

Post by vibe_that_works »

acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

Replying as a hiring manager since this might help other post-grad job seekers:

- Any long-winded answer to a question is immediate out and has been for years.

- Not having used agents and not being able to comment on what to do and what not to do with them is immediate out since early this year.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#142

Post by furyofantares »

emodendroket wrote: post #92
hypfer wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. Have you considered just answering truthfully? Would you even want to work somewhere where you need to play a role and where they flip out when you say the wrong word you should've correctly guessed through mind reading? T…

I assume it's because he is seeking to pay rent, food bills, and other expenses through employment.

I think honesty is still probably correct - if you're struggling to figure out how to hedge.

I think you'd rather have good odds at some companies and 0% at others, rather than abysmal but non-zero odds at all companies.

And as an added bonus, you might get hired at a company where you're actually a good fit, rather than one you weasled your way into, and get to pay rent, food bills, and other expenses through employment for a long time!

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#143

Post by xpct »

acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

I understand the pressure to get employed from your perspective, but differences in opinion should be voiced out and typically aren't the thing leading to rejection from the company. It's common that engineering leads seek out people with different backgrounds and views to work on the same team. If anything, answering truthfully will make you stand out from others who've responded in a generic, heavily hedged way.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#144

Post by bethekidyouwant »

jacobgold wrote: post #97
bethekidyouwant wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How else would anyone do something like issue a refund if not through a programmatic interface?

At some level everything an agent does is through a "programmatic interface" (tool calls). Some people might use skill-based scripts, MCPs, or some kind of raw access to a database. My point is that well designed CLIs are the optimal programmatic interface, for many reasons.

Sorry what other option is there? Is it going to create an API call from scratch every time after reading a page of documentation?

Wait raw access to the database? That’s one of the options for issuing a refund?

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#145

Post by ezst »

retired wrote: post #129
hypfer wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Acknowledging that my perception might be skewed because there are still a ton of social safety nets in place. The same might not be true everywhere.

Last time I was in Germany I saw elderly people going through garbage bins in the park I sat at. I think you overestimate the safety net in Germany. In my European country the elderly sit at cafes drinking coffee, not going through bins. Update: Every street corner has a yellow garbage bin for recycling. That is where your plastic bottles go. Seems like a better system than having elderly going through bins.

Not OP but many people eligible for social benefits don't seek it, for all kinds of reasons (not knowing about it, pride, ideology, peer pressure, ...)

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#146

Post by throwatdem12311 »

mikert89 wrote: post #117
variety8675 wrote: post #2

I've noticed several companies replacing deterministic systems in their support flows with a LLM version that is slower and worse. Many interfaces simply aren't better with AI added

models will get smarter, this wont be an issue

They say this every time. Just wait for the NEXT model bro THEN everything will be be fixed.

Ok wait maybe not the next one but surely the one after!

Hasn’t happened yet and there is no evidence it will.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#147

Post by WhyIsItAlwaysHN »

acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

Consider using agent mode for some things, you are definitely missing out.

The analogy I've had for myself is that it feels like using a bulldozer to dig rather than a shovel. If you use it to dig archaeological artifacts, it can make things worse than you started. A lot of the work however, is just moving dirt around, so you are wasting time by using a shovel.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#148

Post by Avalaxy »

retired wrote: post #129
hypfer wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Acknowledging that my perception might be skewed because there are still a ton of social safety nets in place. The same might not be true everywhere.

Last time I was in Germany I saw elderly people going through garbage bins in the park I sat at. I think you overestimate the safety net in Germany. In my European country the elderly sit at cafes drinking coffee, not going through bins. Update: Every street corner has a yellow garbage bin for recycling. That is where your plastic bottles go. Seems like a better system than having elderly going through bins.

Maybe in your country they also don't have a deposit on bottles/cans, making it pointless to go through trash cans?

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#149

Post by bethekidyouwant »

sqquima wrote: post #108
bethekidyouwant wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How else would anyone do something like issue a refund if not through a programmatic interface?

Direct access to the database, and create the "refund program" on the fly. Yes, stuff of nightmares.

Right thats just head cannon though. Unless of course you believe the lies you read on the Internet.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#150

Post by xpct »

vibe_that_works wrote: post #141
acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

Replying as a hiring manager since this might help other post-grad job seekers: - Any long-winded answer to a question is immediate out and has been for years. - Not having used agents and not being able to comment on what to do and what not to do with them is immediate out since early this year.

> Not having used agents and not being able to comment on what to do and what not to do with them is immediate out since early this year.

From all the tech that we have, agents are really not that hard to learn on the job. They're also not a magical silver bullet.

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