Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

worksonmymachine.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

381–390 of 432 posts

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#381

Post by tom_m »

Why are we counting the number of documents? It doesn't matter. What matters is putting together a plan and being able to articulate what you want. Then review and adjust and prompt again.

You have to know how software gets built and works. You can't just expect to get it right without a decent understanding of software architecture and product design.

This is something that's actually very hard. I'm coming to grips with that slowly, because it's always been part of my process. I'm both a programmer and a graphic designer. It took me a long while to recognize not everyone has spent a great deal of time doing both. Fewer yet decide to learn good software design patterns, study frameworks and open-source projects to understand the problems each of them are solving. It takes a LOT of time. It too me probably 10-15 years just to learn all of this. I've been building software for over 20 years. So it just takes time and that's ok.

The most wonderful thing I see about AI is that it should help people focus on these things. It should free people from getting too far into the weeds and too focused on the code itself. We need more people who can apply critical thinking and design from a bird's eye perspective. We need people who can see the big picture.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#382

Post by siliconc0w »

I like to use other parts of the codebase (or other codebases) as an example which helps a lot to maintain standards and consistency (though adds cost).

I am a bit disillusioned - I find mentoring humans satisfying but I don't get the same satisfaction mentoring AI. I also think it's a probably going to backfire by hamstringing the next generation and 'draining the competence' from the current.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#383

Post by pluc »

tacker2000 wrote: post #328
pluc wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always felt building something was close to artistry. You create something out of your thoughts, you shape it how you want and you understand how it works to the most minute detail. The amount of times I've shown something seemingly simple to someone and went "but wait this is what is actually happening in the background!" and started explaining something I thought was cool or clever are great memories to me. AI…

> There's no pride, no joy, just productivity. I think it’s more nuanced than that. Not every project one does will be or should be considered art or a source of joy and pride. The boring CRUD apps that put the “bread on the table” are just that, a means to an end, they will not be your main source of pride or fulfillment. But somewhere in between there will be projects where you can put all your heart in and turn of…

Well, that's a good example. Why would you get a DJ when you can say "Siri, play Weddings Classics"? There's no humanity involved, no skills to read the room or cater to audiences. So you get a DJ; what if your DJ thinks his job or your event is boring and generates the same playlist you could have done yourself? You need passion, you need interest, you need to be involved. Otherwise every job becomes tedious, and humanity dies.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#384

Post by bob1029 »

tom_m wrote: post #381

Why are we counting the number of documents? It doesn't matter. What matters is putting together a plan and being able to articulate what you want. Then review and adjust and prompt again. You have to know how software gets built and works. You can't just expect to get it right without a decent understanding of software architecture and product design. This is something that's actually very hard. I'm coming to grips…

Knowing is at least half the battle. Doesn't matter what kind of tools you intend to use if you don't even know where the job site is located.

I've been around the block a few times on ideas like a B2B/SaaS requirements gathering product that other B2B/SaaS vendors could use to collect detailed, structured requirements from their customers. Something like an open-world Turbo Tax style workflow experience where the user is eventually cornered into providing all of the needed information before the implementation effort begins.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#385

Post by stephenlf »

sureglymop wrote: post #354
d00mB0t wrote: post #38

"I'd wander into my office, check what Claude had built, test it real quick. If it worked, great! Commit and push." Man, I'm going to make so much money as a Cybersecurity Consultant!

I tend to generally think the same as you, as I work in the same field. A long time ago I thought to myself, if AI adoption increases exponentially, there is a chance that the amount of security vulnerabilities introduced by it also increases at the same rate. However, what we are maybe not considering enough is that general AI adoption could and almost certainly will affect the standards for cybersecurity as well. I…

I don’t follow. Cybersecurity has always been about reducing the risk of costly cyber attacks. That hasn’t changed. It’s not like suddenly companies will stop caring that their software has been locked down by ransomware, or that their database leaked and now they have to pay a nine-figure fine. It’s not standards for standards’ sake (though it can feel that way). It’s loss prevention.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#386

Post by stephenlf »

Anon1096 wrote: post #349
Sammi wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and culinary schools exist and create new cooks in a reproducible way. Why can't coding with ai be taught?

I disagree with the OP that AI coding can't be taught. My answer to why so many people have trouble would be that they refuse to learn. I see tons of people who are insanely biased against AI and then when they try and use it they give up after the first go (having tried a horrible application of AI like making a functioning production app with 1 single prompt, no one using AI for work is using it like that). They al…

FWIW, some people need training on using stack overflow and writing good tickets

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#387

Post by hooverd »

vitaflo wrote: post #377
hooverd wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> some technical know-how how do they develop the technical know-how? how will you review the AI agents when you understand nothing?

How do you review the machine code generated by the compiler?

surely you can appreciate the difference between a compiler and a non-deterministic natural language interface?

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#388

Post by jacobr1 »

nirvanatikku wrote: post #9

This article is spot on. I had stumbled upon Kidlin’s Law—“If you can write down the problem clearly, you’re halfway to solving it”. This is a powerful guiding principle in today’s AI-driven world. As natural language becomes our primary interface with technology, clearly articulating challenges not only enhances our communication but also maximizes the potential of AI. The async approach to coding has been most fasc…

I've found LLMs to be a key tool in helping me articulate something clearly. I write down a few half-vague notes, maybe some hard rules, and my overall intent and ask it to articulate a spec, and then ask to for suggestions, feedback, questions to clarify from a variety of perspectives. This gives me enough material to clarify my actual requirements and then ask for that be broken down into a task list. All along the way I'm both refining my mental model and written material to more clearly communicate my intent to both machines and humans.

Increasingly I've also just ben YOLOing single shot throw-away systems to explore the design space - it is easier to refine the ideas with partially working systems than just abstract prose.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#389

Post by sureglymop »

stephenlf wrote: post #385
sureglymop wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to generally think the same as you, as I work in the same field. A long time ago I thought to myself, if AI adoption increases exponentially, there is a chance that the amount of security vulnerabilities introduced by it also increases at the same rate. However, what we are maybe not considering enough is that general AI adoption could and almost certainly will affect the standards for cybersecurity as well. I…

I don’t follow. Cybersecurity has always been about reducing the risk of costly cyber attacks. That hasn’t changed. It’s not like suddenly companies will stop caring that their software has been locked down by ransomware, or that their database leaked and now they have to pay a nine-figure fine. It’s not standards for standards’ sake (though it can feel that way). It’s loss prevention.

Sure, in the case of ransomware, phishing the ceo, etc. you are right. But for most other cases that AI would affect, it's not like companies would care if there weren't regulatory consequences forcing them to.

Re: Nobody knows how to build with AI yet

#390

Post by [deleted] »

paulgerhardt wrote: post #7
fmbb wrote: post #4

That time dilation feels a bit like what METR reported: https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o... Developers believe they complete tasks 25% faster with AI but when measured they are 19% slower when using AI.

This was the study with a population size of 16?

[deleted]
Post reply on HN