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I'm dialing back my LLM usage

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Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#221

Post by ivraatiems »

The way that LLMs are used/are encouraged by business right now is evidence that they are mostly being pushed by people who don't understand software. I don't know very many actual software engineers who advocate for vibe-coding or using LLMs this way. I know ton of engineers who advocate using them as helpful tools, myself included (in fact I changed my opinion on it as their capabilities grew, and I'll continue to do so).

Every tool is just a tool. No tool is a solution. Until and unless we hit AGI, only the human brain is that.

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#222

Post by kadhirvelm »

kadhirvelm wrote: post #121
rzz3 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wonder if this is “as good as LLMs can get” when we saw such a huge improvement between Claude 3.7 and Claude 4, released what, a couple weeks ago? Of course it isn’t as good as LLMs can get. Give it 3 more weeks and you’ll see it get better again.

I don’t doubt LLMs will become better assistants over time, as you said every few weeks. I more mean if LLMs will cross the assistant to compiler chasm where we don’t have to think about the code anymore and can focus on just the features

Wrote more thoughts here: https://resync-games.com/blog/engineering/llms-as-compiler

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#223

Post by discardable_dan »

jm4 wrote: post #120
x187463 wrote: post #11

Am I spending too much time on HN or is every post/comment section filled with this same narrative? Basically, LLMs are exciting but they produce messy code for which the dev feels no ownership. Managing a codebase written by an LLM is difficult because you have not cognitively loaded the entire thing into your head as you do with code written yourself. They're okay for one-off scripts or projects you do not intend t…

I think you described it much more succinctly than most people do. It's been my exact experience as well. The LLM can develop much faster than I can build a mental model. It's very easy to get to a point where you don't know what's going on, a bunch of bugs have been introduced and you can't easily fix them or refactor because you're essentially the new guy on your own project. I find myself adjusting by committing c…

I have retreated into only accepting small snippets from it. Asking it to write print functions, that sort of thing, or a specific loop that I hand-review. For the same reason.

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#225

Post by tom_m »

x187463 wrote: post #11

Am I spending too much time on HN or is every post/comment section filled with this same narrative? Basically, LLMs are exciting but they produce messy code for which the dev feels no ownership. Managing a codebase written by an LLM is difficult because you have not cognitively loaded the entire thing into your head as you do with code written yourself. They're okay for one-off scripts or projects you do not intend t…

Honestly, they produce what they were trained on -- mediocre code. That doesn't mean people can't use that to make money, deliver customer value, etc. but is it code that's going to win any awards or be inspiring? No. Not in the slightest. Probably never. Because you are what you eat.

The question is, what do you expect from an LLM? What do you want to use it for?

They're plenty useful but, with anything, you need to use it responsibly and with proper expectations.

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#226

Post by tom_m »

jm4 wrote: post #120
x187463 wrote: post #11

Am I spending too much time on HN or is every post/comment section filled with this same narrative? Basically, LLMs are exciting but they produce messy code for which the dev feels no ownership. Managing a codebase written by an LLM is difficult because you have not cognitively loaded the entire thing into your head as you do with code written yourself. They're okay for one-off scripts or projects you do not intend t…

I think you described it much more succinctly than most people do. It's been my exact experience as well. The LLM can develop much faster than I can build a mental model. It's very easy to get to a point where you don't know what's going on, a bunch of bugs have been introduced and you can't easily fix them or refactor because you're essentially the new guy on your own project. I find myself adjusting by committing c…

Really good thoughts here. You do become like the "new guy" on the project. It's becoming a black box. I think that should be some sort of signal to people...but my dear is people not caring or being complacent with this or not taking the time to review, read and learn. That's where the danger is.

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#227

Post by eviks »

> Alberto initially embraced LLMs with genuine enthusiasm, hoping they would revolutionize his development workflow.

Is there any other way but down from such revolutionary ungrounded expectations?

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#228

Post by dostick »

x187463 wrote: post #11

Am I spending too much time on HN or is every post/comment section filled with this same narrative? Basically, LLMs are exciting but they produce messy code for which the dev feels no ownership. Managing a codebase written by an LLM is difficult because you have not cognitively loaded the entire thing into your head as you do with code written yourself. They're okay for one-off scripts or projects you do not intend t…

That applies just to one segment- the developers. What about people who wouldn’t be able to develop due to time constraints? I think it will be majority of coding LLM users. I am not talking about third group, the non-developers. But people who know languages, frameworks and design patterns. Not develop at all?

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#229

Post by __m »

x187463 wrote: post #11

Am I spending too much time on HN or is every post/comment section filled with this same narrative? Basically, LLMs are exciting but they produce messy code for which the dev feels no ownership. Managing a codebase written by an LLM is difficult because you have not cognitively loaded the entire thing into your head as you do with code written yourself. They're okay for one-off scripts or projects you do not intend t…

I think there is a middle ground, where you still make the important decisions and let an LLM fill out the rest. You don't need every implementation detail in your head (though you should of course review it), but you need to keep control over the structure and data flow.

Re: I'm dialing back my LLM usage

#230

Post by noobermin »

x187463 wrote: post #11

Am I spending too much time on HN or is every post/comment section filled with this same narrative? Basically, LLMs are exciting but they produce messy code for which the dev feels no ownership. Managing a codebase written by an LLM is difficult because you have not cognitively loaded the entire thing into your head as you do with code written yourself. They're okay for one-off scripts or projects you do not intend t…

A good fraction of the "other side" is native advertising, easier than ever now that AI can astroturf itself.
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