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The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

mazzzystar.github.io

271–280 of 311 posts

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#271
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As always, you still have to bring your own ideas and hustle to the table. The difference is that GPT flattens the learning curve on a lot of things that would previously prevent you from executing on your ideas and it helps keep the momentum up when you hit the hard part of the grind.

It’s amazing for prototypes and writing utility functions, but for fully scalable and supportable architecture it’s a long ways off. Likewise, it often generates very complex and confusing code - specifically regex in my experience where I can get the job done in a much more readable way. Don’t get me wrong, I use it all day as a little coding helper, but while it can say, advise you on how to set up a distributed sy…

Yeah people haven’t used GPT enough if they think it can do all these things. Same with AutoGPT - it’s a total joke that got hyped up to high heavens. Go try to make it actually do anything of value and watch it struggle to parse Google results and get stuck in an infinite loop every time. LangChain has the right idea because you must break down the task to small parts and program the thing to do the correct thing after each step

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#272
post #221

> Within 5 months, I single-handedly launched 5 iOS apps. > Staying in any company right now is a negative return; you are wasting personal leverage. Isn't it obvious that this doesn't work if _everyone_ does it? Also, if the bar we use to measure how useful a tool is for society, is that it allows an individual to release 1 app per month, then we're doomed whether before AIs take over or not.

> Isn't it obvious that this doesn't work if _everyone_ does it?

Why not? We could have 1000 small businesses instead of one business with 1000 employees.

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#273
post #136

Corporations serve a purpose - to organize human labor to fulfill a greater task that usually cannot be completed by an individual. So while I don't disagree that GPT-4 in the hands of a layperson programmer may suddenly turn them into a 10x developer, I don't know if that fact alone allows that individual to create great things. In addition, there will be a great crowding out effect. If websites and apps are so easy…

> In addition, there will be a great crowding out effect. If websites and apps are so easy to create now, there will be a deluge of junk to come. Every mediocre idea will be put forth.

Perhaps it will be the opposite. There's a lot of domain experts out there that might be able to turn their idea into reality.

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#274
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s amazing for prototypes and writing utility functions, but for fully scalable and supportable architecture it’s a long ways off. Likewise, it often generates very complex and confusing code - specifically regex in my experience where I can get the job done in a much more readable way. Don’t get me wrong, I use it all day as a little coding helper, but while it can say, advise you on how to set up a distributed sy…

Yeah people haven’t used GPT enough if they think it can do all these things. Same with AutoGPT - it’s a total joke that got hyped up to high heavens. Go try to make it actually do anything of value and watch it struggle to parse Google results and get stuck in an infinite loop every time. LangChain has the right idea because you must break down the task to small parts and program the thing to do the correct thing af…

It’s a really good intern.

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#275
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you can make something using AI, so can everyone else The idea / creativity is hence the key. Novel ideas don't occur to everyone.

If it's trivial to implement someone else can just take your idea and easily spin up a competitor, devaluing your idea.

This is the ultimate fate of any interesting or useful idea. What matters - if you're doing it for fame or profit - is the delay between you and your competitors executing on the idea.

(The delay may sometimes be negative. I'm reminded of a few cases where someone made a successful Kickstarter, only to discover mid-way through fundraising that factories in China are already busy manufacturing their product for someone else.)

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#276
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As always, you still have to bring your own ideas and hustle to the table. The difference is that GPT flattens the learning curve on a lot of things that would previously prevent you from executing on your ideas and it helps keep the momentum up when you hit the hard part of the grind.

It’s amazing for prototypes and writing utility functions, but for fully scalable and supportable architecture it’s a long ways off. Likewise, it often generates very complex and confusing code - specifically regex in my experience where I can get the job done in a much more readable way. Don’t get me wrong, I use it all day as a little coding helper, but while it can say, advise you on how to set up a distributed sy…

What's the fundamental difference between generating Terraform to a spec and "rolling out VMs and DB clusters"?

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#277
post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the point the grandparent was making was that GPT-4 can teach you how to use an under-documented API. that means the relevant docs are either sparse or non-existent, otherwise there wouldn't be a need to ask GPT-4 in the first place.

No, that wasn’t my point. You don’t need docs, just feed in the raw source code. GPT4 can make sense of code without documentation.

feed it raw source code of what exactly?

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The power of LLMs atm is that they allow a person to be "median" in a very wide range of topics. This is extremely powerful, even to folks that can attain an above average mastery. It also does this quickly. There was a recent article on Slashdot titled something how metaverse may increase the gdp by like 2 or 3 percent. It was obviously laughed at. It's actually LLMs that will do this, and easily.

It's also a solid rubber duck, it'll test you by giving you misinfo and you have to tease it back from the brink.

Yeah, a coworker tried an exercise like this, and it was basically (even with as-an-expert prompts) like trying to mentor a high school intern that's trolling you (except that it won't actually get better at anything in the process.)

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it's a bit sad that the only benefit someone can see in their workplace is their salary. It's not the only benefit, but it's the only one that you can't get in some other way. I suspect that very few people -- even people who love their jobs -- would continue working in them if they weren't getting paid.

Well yeah, but we're unlikely to ever live in a world where there aren't paid jobs. Personally, I enjoy working with people. I may not make as much money as going solo but holistically my work life is improved by having colleagues. I think the same is true for most people. No person is an island.

There are plenty of ways of collaborating that don't involve a Paid job.

"No person is an island". I hate quotes like this, things that have the veneer of truth without any actual corroborating data. I am a textbook introvert, I get no greater joy and contentment when spending a Saturday morning pursuing a personal project solo style.

Re: The Leverage of LLMs for Individuals

#280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm leveraging this to build https://codeamigo.dev . Basically it's learn to code, but with an AI assistant. The main reason people drop off of coding tutorials or stop learning is when they see their first error message. I'm already seeing people get un-stuck by using the AI as an assistant, this tech (GPT) is going to completely revolutionize learning.

Your website looks nice, but I don't like this statement: "Today's developers didn't learn C before learning Python [...]" Makes me feel like I am a "yesterday's developer" and that it is bad thing.

How about binary before Python?
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