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Not everyone is using AI for everything

gabrielweinberg.com

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Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#301

Post by Ifkaluva »

acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

I am also on the job market, but as a Senior. Pro-tip: ask them this question before they ask you. “One quick question I have about the company culture, …”

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#302

Post by foxglacier »

spoaceman7777 wrote: post #279
layer8 wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think that’s it. AI mobile apps support voice conversations. And low literacy is rather a motivation for using AI to generate and summarize text.

Just getting to the point of using a voice mode is a challenge at that level. Like, we're talking about "has trouble formulating a question to ask in the first place". There's a whole level of ignorance out there that is honestly dumbfounding to even comprehend. The numbers for numeracy and problem solving are even more horrifying. (It's for this reason that the most popular apps in the US are algorithmically generat…

I thought not needing words was because people often watch them on their phone in public without sound. Who are these people that can't enjoy listening to spoken words because of illiteracy or ignorance?

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#303

Post by hvb2 »

reg_dunlop wrote: post #274
monkpit wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should really examine your situation and beliefs if you think this isn’t a privileged position to be in.

We live in an ecosystem where we (engineers/developers) can promote ourselves and display our skills/acumen/values/professionalism/responsibility in an unequivocal way. Regardless of your experience level. I bootstrapped myself from poverty to Staff software engineer, past the age of 45. Is that privileged? Or sheer will and force of effort? I am not unique. I am an example.

Just saying, anyone calling themselves an example is someone I'll ignore (but I'll reply to explain the rationale)

This is the mentality that says that if your company goes bust, you didn't work hard enough. Sometimes effort might be the problem..

No, not everyone can make it from nowhere to staff software engineer. That doesn't mean they're not trying hard enough.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#304

Post by [deleted] »

pesus wrote: post #209
reg_dunlop wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible to work for an employer, and not have to compromise your values and or professional integrity. The attitude suggested by your response suggests you haven't lived that reality yet. Either way, I'd rather be rejected by an employer for speaking my truth, than lie to be somewhere I'd rather not be.

This a very condescending and privileged comment. The job market is much different when you're just starting out, and it's especially brutal these days for new grads.

[deleted]

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#305

Post by simonw »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #299
simonw wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people are genuinely stranded if their phone runs out of battery. How do they pull up a map, or call an Uber, or phone someone to pick them up?

I'm not sure the point you're trying to make. This was true before cell phones too. People didn't carry maps everywhere. What's the difference between then and now? Pay phones, basically? Physical maps being available in public places more readily?

The argument here is "most people can get by just fine" without access to the internet.

I tried to pick an obvious example to illustrate how that's not true.

The difference is that, prior to everyone having a smart phone, people had backups for if they ran into trouble. They might simply not go somewhere that they might have trouble returning from. They sorted out their travel plans in advance - someone to pick them up from a location at a time. They memorized phone numbers so they could call from a pay phone if they needed to. They carried cash or a cheque book to pay for cabs.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#306

Post by weavie »

acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

The reason you've had more bad results than good is because you haven't fully learned how to use LLMs yet. They are not as simple as they first appear. I think a lot of people think using a coding agent is just a case of firing it up and telling it what to do and expecting to get it right first time. When it doesn't they just think it's no good and like you abandon the effort.

The reason a technical interviewer will be asking this question is because they want to see how you adapt to using new technologies, LLMs being one of the most disruptive technology that has hit the tech industry since at least the internet. You will likely be expected to use LLMs and they will want to know that you are someone who truly understands the capabilities of them - upsides and downsides, where to use them, what guardrails you need to put in place.

I'd encourage you to revisit the re-factoring task you worked on. Work out why it didn't work, work out what didn't work about it and if you have the chance try again, but use different techniques, there's a lot of conversations going on about what people find working and not working - try to join that conversation. Try to document what you learn. Then in the interview discuss these rather than just saying you gave up. The interviewer isn't going to check up on how successful your project was, they just want to know how you think and how you approach problems.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#307

Post by daishi55 »

dakiol wrote: post #25
camdenreslink wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real best case scenario is using LLMs to help build deterministic systems. Instead of asking an LLM to do some task that you know will be repeated, instead ask the LLM to build a program (Python script or whatever) to do the task.

If it's a one-off script/program that doesn't require additional "domain knowledge", sure. But what if you need to give as context your whole backend repository because you need to take into account a few business rules? Why give anthropic/openai access to my "secret sauce" (e.g., company private repos)? In that case, it's way better to simply write the code yourself.

I promise OpenAI is not going to steal your “secret sauce”

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#308

Post by zerobees »

hypfer wrote: post #82
acc_297 wrote: post #72

On the post-grad job hunt right now - I note that most employers will ask in a technical interview or whiteboard interview "how are you using LLMs?" It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. I've been responding with a sort of long winded answer about how 'there is…

> It's tough to answer because you want to hedge for both an AI enthused employer and an AI hesitant employer with limited information about who they are and how they personally use these products. Have you considered just answering truthfully? Would you even want to work somewhere where you need to play a role and where they flip out when you say the wrong word you should've correctly guessed through mind reading? T…

> Have you considered just answering truthfully? ... That sounds not like a job but a toxic relationship.

It's a job, not a relationship. It's best not to confuse the two.

In any workplace, you will occasionally have to do things you find boring or objectionable. And if you're hoping to find a corporation that is a "perfect match", it will only hurt more when they unceremoniously fire you because the quarterly revenue growth is 1% off or because you cracked an off-color joke.

Re: Not everyone is using AI for everything

#309

Post by bluefirebrand »

simonw wrote: post #305
bluefirebrand wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure the point you're trying to make. This was true before cell phones too. People didn't carry maps everywhere. What's the difference between then and now? Pay phones, basically? Physical maps being available in public places more readily?

The argument here is "most people can get by just fine" without access to the internet. I tried to pick an obvious example to illustrate how that's not true. The difference is that, prior to everyone having a smart phone, people had backups for if they ran into trouble. They might simply not go somewhere that they might have trouble returning from. They sorted out their travel plans in advance - someone to pick them…

Fair enough. I suppose a better argument would be "people can learn to get by just fine without the internet if they have to"

But you're definitely right. We become pretty reliant pretty quickly. I think that should be concerning with the way technology is trending in society

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