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If AI writes your code, why use Python?

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Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#151

Post by tengbretson »

_boffin_ wrote: post #80

Read the first few comments and surprised I didn’t see it, but training data. The voluminous amount of Python in the training data. I could write in brainfuck with ai, but I presume, wouldn’t get the same results than if going with python. My follow up question: with AI now, why care about a lang until you need to?

Admittedly, I have very little experience with LLM-assisted Python. However, based on the severe degradation in output quality I have seen from an LLM working with plain JavaScript as opposed to TypeScript, I can't imagine choosing to start a project in Python at the moment.

Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#152

Post by asdff »

Better question is why use any code? Generate random functions and select based on measuring the distribution of output of these functions against metrics of interest. A pure black box of instruction that is more performant than any verbose code or algorithm we could come up with, because all we select for is performance above all. Directed evolution essentially of the codebase, generated through mutation and selection, just like everything else on planet earth.

Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#153

Post by zmmmmm »

iLemming wrote: post #62
tptacek wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Type safety feels like the big one; anything you can shift to static/compile-time regimes benefits agents immensely.

There are two working LLM axes. Critic strength: how much the language catches before runtime. Sensor strength: how good the empirical feedback loop is. LLMs benefit from both, but the sensor axis often is undervalued. Type safety is great, but you can't just quietly disregard the benefits some dynamically typed languages provide; that would be completely ignoring that different tasks weight the two axes differently.…

> Critic strength .... Sensor strength

that's a nice breakdown

I think there's something key you get at in terms of the combo of dynamic environment + type safety maximising both. With a dynamic environment, the LLM can do a lot of interrogation to understand the problem space on the fly. I've witnessed agents sort out pretty complex issues through `python -c "..."`, `groovy -e "..."`, executing snippets of code with Node etc which is much less accessible if they have to compile it first. They can also inject logging code that interrogates the runtime as well (what type do we really have at line 1003?) etc which works better with runtimes that have deep introspection capabilities.

Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#155

Post by yalogin »

Isn’t the answer usually - because the same ai said python is the right language for it?

Honestly I am in the exact same boat thinking why I don’t write in C if Claude is writing it. However I chickened out thinking if support for ml model or llm based flows doesn’t exist in c then it will be time consuming to go to python then.

Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#157

Post by someguyiguess »

iLemming wrote: post #66
niek_pas wrote: post #2

Bit off topic but why in the world are people still posting on medium? The reading experience is abhorrent; I couldn’t even finish reading this article before a full screen popup literally blocked the sentence I was reading. Is there some incentive I’m not seeing?

> The reading experience is abhorrent Nothing you read in the browser can provide ultimately great and hands-down the best reading experience equally for everybody - the modern web model is inherently at odds with that. A plain HTML page with no CSS is a near-perfect reading experience. The problem is that almost nobody ships that, because the web also became a publishing platform where authors compete for attention.…

> Why would I do that, if I can easily extract all the relevant, plain text (and even structured one) and read it in my editor instead?

Because that’s an enormous pain in the ass. Not scalable at all.

Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#159

Post by bluegatty »

_boffin_ wrote: post #80

Read the first few comments and surprised I didn’t see it, but training data. The voluminous amount of Python in the training data. I could write in brainfuck with ai, but I presume, wouldn’t get the same results than if going with python. My follow up question: with AI now, why care about a lang until you need to?

There's enough training data on the other langs.

Re: If AI writes your code, why use Python?

#160

Post by moosehater »

malloryerik wrote: post #120
iLemming wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two working LLM axes. Critic strength: how much the language catches before runtime. Sensor strength: how good the empirical feedback loop is. LLMs benefit from both, but the sensor axis often is undervalued. Type safety is great, but you can't just quietly disregard the benefits some dynamically typed languages provide; that would be completely ignoring that different tasks weight the two axes differently.…

Using Clojure and Elixir and LLMs are fantastic with both. Sure, if I get to a super-stable situation then maybe I'd consider moving to Rust (or Jank?), but for now I'm just so happy with Clojure and Elixir in this new world. I'm solving new problems with fully bespoke architecture so the flexibility is key. Clojure for business logic and most DB. With Elixir, it's the actor model and hand-holding as I'm using it for…

What made you use Clojure for business logic and DBs rather than using Elixir for everything? The JVM ecosystem?
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