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AI is a bad tool

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Re: AI is a bad tool

#11

Post by jottinger »

kierenj wrote: post #3

I'd welcome someone pointing out where I'm wrong in my critique of this critique.. "The reason AI is a bad tool is that generally speaking, it is completely opaque." "The real question is, who can verify that what the AI built is good and true?" Well, you? The developer? The person responsible for using the tool, no? Isn't this article just saying, "using a tool blindly and not checking the result" is bad? Which, of…

It is, I think. I published the article on BCN (the preface is me, the rest is a reader submission) and I find I agree with relatively little of the article, but I think it has observations worth looking at, even so.

Re: AI is a bad tool

#12

Post by pineaux »

I get their point, but they are probably wrong. Not saying the AIs will not get better and better. They probably will, but I see a chance that there are smaller and smaller gains and the AIs cant make those gains happen. But coding with llm's doesnt say its shoddy code per se. I view it as: We used to use hand saws to make cabinets. Then we had tracksaws. Then we had CNC saws... You still need to understand woodworking to make a nice table in all these scenarios.

Re: AI is a bad tool

#13

Post by adamtaylor_13 »

adamddev1 wrote: post #5
m_w_ wrote: post #2

I can only imagine that people who say things like: > If you use AI for anything else, and in particularly if you use it to generate code, you're wasting your time. Have not used frontier models in at least a year. It is nearly inconceivable to me that I would ever go back to writing code by hand, in any context. Even if no new model was ever released, the combination of GLM 5.2 and DeepSeek V4 flash is more than suf…

Are you writing code for end-user applications, or for tools or libraries that other stuff is built with?

Both. And internal tools. And infrastructure scaffolding a la terraform. And visual design.

And frontier models routinely crush all the above in a way I couldn't, at speeds unattainable to mere flesh and blood like me.

Re: AI is a bad tool

#14

Post by champagnepapi »

m_w_ wrote: post #2

I can only imagine that people who say things like: > If you use AI for anything else, and in particularly if you use it to generate code, you're wasting your time. Have not used frontier models in at least a year. It is nearly inconceivable to me that I would ever go back to writing code by hand, in any context. Even if no new model was ever released, the combination of GLM 5.2 and DeepSeek V4 flash is more than suf…

How are you verifying all the code that's generated? Do you think that verifying properly would take you as much effort as the original implementation would've?

Re: AI is a bad tool

#15

Post by semiquaver »

Pure sophistry, divorced from reality.

It starts with the assumption that nothing coming from AI can be useful or trusted and uses that to demonstrate that AI is not useful or safe.

Re: AI is a bad tool

#16

Post by datakan »

m_w_ wrote: post #2

I can only imagine that people who say things like: > If you use AI for anything else, and in particularly if you use it to generate code, you're wasting your time. Have not used frontier models in at least a year. It is nearly inconceivable to me that I would ever go back to writing code by hand, in any context. Even if no new model was ever released, the combination of GLM 5.2 and DeepSeek V4 flash is more than suf…

Do you not enjoy coding? I'm not trying to be snarky, just a genuine question. People used to enjoy it but lately all I see are people talking about they "no longer have to do it"

I see both sides of the argument people endless have over this. I have been hesitant to take a solid position, first because I suck at coding and second because I dont really have a dog in this fight.

The only context I have is my friend in HVAC from many years ago that went to a school that taught everything manually because they wanted people to have a deep understanding of it. What happens to code in the future when people don't have a deep understanding?

Re: AI is a bad tool

#17

Post by samuelknight »

Has the author used an LLM to brainstorm architecture, explore trade-offs, challenge assumptions, or refine a design? Models are not just 'a data distiller'. "How could I implement X feature in Y project?" requires systematic planning. The agentic paradigm is about balancing (expensive) human and (cheap) machine cognition. Frontier models chew through requirements and if you don't like what they come up with you can TALK to them about it.

Re: AI is a bad tool

#18

Post by wmichelin »

datakan wrote: post #16
m_w_ wrote: post #2

I can only imagine that people who say things like: > If you use AI for anything else, and in particularly if you use it to generate code, you're wasting your time. Have not used frontier models in at least a year. It is nearly inconceivable to me that I would ever go back to writing code by hand, in any context. Even if no new model was ever released, the combination of GLM 5.2 and DeepSeek V4 flash is more than suf…

Do you not enjoy coding? I'm not trying to be snarky, just a genuine question. People used to enjoy it but lately all I see are people talking about they "no longer have to do it" I see both sides of the argument people endless have over this. I have been hesitant to take a solid position, first because I suck at coding and second because I dont really have a dog in this fight. The only context I have is my friend in…

I enjoy building things. I do not enjoy the act typing out code by hand.

> Do you not enjoy coding? I'm not trying to be snarky, just a genuine question

To follow this debate through, to maximize coding enjoyment, shouldn't we be avoiding compilers? They take away a lot of the code we need to write. Frameworks as well?

Re: AI is a bad tool

#19

Post by Ken_At_EM »

m_w_ wrote: post #2

I can only imagine that people who say things like: > If you use AI for anything else, and in particularly if you use it to generate code, you're wasting your time. Have not used frontier models in at least a year. It is nearly inconceivable to me that I would ever go back to writing code by hand, in any context. Even if no new model was ever released, the combination of GLM 5.2 and DeepSeek V4 flash is more than suf…

nailed it

Re: AI is a bad tool

#20

Post by adamddev1 »

grim_io wrote: post #9
adamddev1 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you writing code for end-user applications, or for tools or libraries that other stuff is built with?

Not the guy you asked, but honestly, I'm not sure which one of those I'd consider better use cases, not worse .

I ask because I think there's a huge difference between the two.

People making end-user applications might think they can tolerate more errors and bloat from AI.

Just because they can get away with doing that with AI (and that's debatable) does not mean that people can also get away with that in developing tools, libraries, languages etc. The errors, bloat and instability bubbles up exponentially as people build on it.

There seems to be this fallacy of "I don't have to write code anymore, therefore nobody will have to write code anymore."

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