Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI • Hacker News Board

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#21

Post by bigyabai » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:07 AM UTC

simianwords wrote: post #10

linguae wrote: post #6

Assuming this post is real (it’s a screenshot, not a link), I wonder if Rob Pike has retired from Google? I share these sentiments. I’m not opposed to large language models per se, but I’m growing increasingly resentful of the power that Big Tech companies have over computing and the broader economy, and how personal computing is being threatened by increased lockdowns and higher component prices. We’re beyond the da…

This argument always felt insincere to me. What power do big tech companies have and why do you have a problem with it? They are simply providing a service you didn’t have access to.

> What power do big tech companies have

Aftermarket control, for one. You buy an Android/iPhone or Mac/Windows device and get a "free" OS along with it. Then, your attention subsidizes the device through advertising, bundled services and cartel-style anti-competitive price fixing. OEMs have no motivation not to harm the market in this way, and users aren't entitled to a solution besides deluding themselves into thinking the grass really is greener on the other side.

What power did Microsoft wield against Netscape? They could alter the deal, and make Netscape pray it wasn't altered further.

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#22

Post by tjr » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:07 AM UTC

simianwords wrote: post #10

linguae wrote: post #6

Assuming this post is real (it’s a screenshot, not a link), I wonder if Rob Pike has retired from Google? I share these sentiments. I’m not opposed to large language models per se, but I’m growing increasingly resentful of the power that Big Tech companies have over computing and the broader economy, and how personal computing is being threatened by increased lockdowns and higher component prices. We’re beyond the da…

This argument always felt insincere to me. What power do big tech companies have and why do you have a problem with it? They are simply providing a service you didn’t have access to.

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-s...

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#23

Post by gorgoiler » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:08 AM UTC

bigyabai wrote: post #2

> I want no local storage anywhere near me other than maybe caches. No disks, no state, my world entirely in the network. Storage needs to be backed up and maintained, which should be someone else's problem, one I'm happy to pay to have them solve. [0] I can't help but think Pike somewhat contributed to this pillaging. [0] (2012) https://usesthis.com/interviews/rob.pike/

Encryption is the key!

I appreciate though that the majority of cloud storage providers fall short, perhaps deliberately, of offering a zero knowledge service (where they backup your data but cannot themselves read it.)

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#24

Post by ks2048 » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:09 AM UTC

Does anyone know the context? It looks like an email from "AI Village" [1] which says it has a bunch of AI agents "collaborating on projects". So, one just decided to email well-known programmers thanking them for their work?

[1] https://theaidigest.org/village

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#25

Post by aboardRat4 » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:09 AM UTC

johnnyanmac wrote: post #12

linguae wrote: post #6

Assuming this post is real (it’s a screenshot, not a link), I wonder if Rob Pike has retired from Google? I share these sentiments. I’m not opposed to large language models per se, but I’m growing increasingly resentful of the power that Big Tech companies have over computing and the broader economy, and how personal computing is being threatened by increased lockdowns and higher component prices. We’re beyond the da…

I'm Assuming his Twitter is private right now, but his Mastodon does share the same event (minus the "nuclear"): https://hachyderm.io/@robpike/115782101216369455 And a screenshot just in case (archiving Mastodon seems tricky) : https://imgur.com/a/9tmo384 Seems the event was true, if nothing else. EDIT: alternative screenshot: https://ibb.co/xS6Jw6D3 Apologies for not having a proper archive. I'm not at a computer an…

Don't use imgur, it blocks half of the Internet.

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#26

Post by johnnyanmac » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:09 AM UTC

simianwords wrote: post #10

linguae wrote: post #6

Assuming this post is real (it’s a screenshot, not a link), I wonder if Rob Pike has retired from Google? I share these sentiments. I’m not opposed to large language models per se, but I’m growing increasingly resentful of the power that Big Tech companies have over computing and the broader economy, and how personal computing is being threatened by increased lockdowns and higher component prices. We’re beyond the da…

This argument always felt insincere to me. What power do big tech companies have and why do you have a problem with it? They are simply providing a service you didn’t have access to.

For some context, this is the a long time Googler who's feats include major contributions to GoLang and Co-creating UTF-8.

To call him the Oppenheimer of Gemini would be overly dramatic. But he definitely had access to the Manhattan project.

>What power do big tech companies have and why do you have a problem with

Do you want the gist of the last 20 years or so, or are you just being rhetorical? im sure there will be much literature over time that will dissect such a question to its atoms. Whether it be a cautionary tale or a retrospective of how a part is society fell? Well, we still have time to write that story.

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#27

Post by foresto » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:10 AM UTC

baobun wrote: post #3

No "going nuclear" there. A human and emotional reaction I think many here can relate to. BTW I think it's preferred to link directly to the content instead of a screenshot on imgur.

Does HN allow links to content that's not publicly viewable?

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#28

Post by strangescript » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:12 AM UTC

[flagged]

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#29

Post by AIorNot » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:12 AM UTC

simianwords wrote: post #10

linguae wrote: post #6

Assuming this post is real (it’s a screenshot, not a link), I wonder if Rob Pike has retired from Google? I share these sentiments. I’m not opposed to large language models per se, but I’m growing increasingly resentful of the power that Big Tech companies have over computing and the broader economy, and how personal computing is being threatened by increased lockdowns and higher component prices. We’re beyond the da…

This argument always felt insincere to me. What power do big tech companies have and why do you have a problem with it? They are simply providing a service you didn’t have access to.

Umm are you being serious? just look of the tech company titans in this photo in this trump inauguration - they are literally a stand in for putins oligarchs at this point

https://www.livenowfox.com/news/billionaires-trump-inaugurat...

Re: Rob Pike goes nuclear over GenAI

#30

Post by karmasimida » Fri, Dec 26, 2025, 6:13 AM UTC

Can't really fault him for having this feeling. The value proposition of software engineering is completely different past later half of 2025, I guess it is fair for pioneers of the past to feel little left behind.