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Code is cheap now, but software isn't

chrisgregori.dev

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Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#61

Post by volkk »

luigi23 wrote: post #31
volkk wrote: post #13

For the love of all that is holy, I cannot read another 5 page AI post that could've been like 200 words. Just make it a paragraph or two and write using your brain, people. Does everything have to be ran through an AI? I'm sure there's some decent ideas in here, but I'm not wasting my time reading this slop.

you won't get clicks and you can't build brand with it. sad but true.

but i don't understand, how is more words better? people already barely read anything. how is writing 4 pages of slop a better brand builder? wouldn't succinct articles be better?

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#62

Post by bicepjai »

bruce511 wrote: post #5

I saw someone use the term "orchestration", which seems to be the word for building the software using LLM tools. It made me think of the conductor, seemingly the most skillless job in the orchestra. All you do is wave the batton, no need to ever play a instrument. If LLMs are doing the hard part (writing code) then we can be the conductor waving the batton. But of course the visuals are misleading. Being conductor d…

Conductor of an orchestra and current skillet of managing a coding agent feels intuitive to me which addresses understanding the differences in management and skill set. Great analogy.

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#63

Post by bustylasercanon »

freediver wrote: post #23

So many nice blogs showing on HN, and no RSS feed. Seems like most are on github pages, that should be a feature over there.

Author here - I added an RSS feed :) https://www.chrisgregori.dev/rss.xml

I had this in the old version of my site that I refreshed in the last 2 months and forgot to take the RSS feed with me, thanks for the reminder!

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#64

Post by bustylasercanon »

jascha_eng wrote: post #3

Can't read this every paragraph ends with it's not x it's y. Just give me the prompt so I can read the real insights you have and not the generated fluff.

Again I'm the author.. and I actually wrote this.

Maybe I need to stop reading AI posts and thinking that it's good writing? But will take the feedback on board and try not to over analyse each paragraph - it was a lot messier upon first draft but maybe ready better I guess.

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#65

Post by sublinear »

tjr wrote: post #60
sublinear wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah my point was that there's not much existing software within a business that's the equivalent of an ad jingle, unless you really split hairs and start counting excel macros or something. Will there be new software like that? Maybe, but you'll never hear about it. Not only because it's throwaway code, but because the best interface is probably no code at all. The chatbot will instead spin up a VM behind the scenes…

On the other hand, if there is budget available, like on real movies and bigger television projects, real musicians are still used. And across the board, except for musical styles that explicitly call for electronic sounds, most people agree that using live players would be preferred if only they had the time and money. I wonder if there’s any parallel to that in software?

I think the equivalent to "live players" are frontend app devs.

It's a deeply unpopular opinion around here, but if a human has to interact with anything that's where most of the effort and budget is going to go. They're still the "rock stars".

That skill set is not merely writing code. It's more about collaboration with all the stakeholders and making a ton of deliberate decisions and compromises. It doesn't matter how "good" an LLM is at writing code for the web. That's subjective, and that's my point. We've had all kinds of no-code solutions for a very long time.

An experienced frontend dev is necessary when the project isn't just for other devs or internal use.

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#67

Post by solumunus »

bruce511 wrote: post #5

I saw someone use the term "orchestration", which seems to be the word for building the software using LLM tools. It made me think of the conductor, seemingly the most skillless job in the orchestra. All you do is wave the batton, no need to ever play a instrument. If LLMs are doing the hard part (writing code) then we can be the conductor waving the batton. But of course the visuals are misleading. Being conductor d…

> Business has never been harder.

Really though? That seems completely wrong.

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#68

Post by PeterStuer »

Keep in mind a gaggle of CC/Opus 4.5 agents is the worst this tech will be. How long ago did we hail 3.5 as the best? ATM, we are counting in months and weeks and the frogs are still leaping, and for all the naysayers, this has not yet slowed down.

Will the bubble pop and wipe out progress? Will this be a boon or bust for humanity? Who knows. In any case, the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades ;).

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#69

Post by cheald »

hahahahhaah wrote: post #19
dag11 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I randomly skipped to five different paragraphs and each one ended with a "!x but y" logical statement, just formatted differently most of the time. Crazy how you can't unsee it. A sibling [dead] comment to mine is a rebuttal to "just post the prompt", where it itself was expanded to several paragraphs that each say nearly nothing, including this gem: > "That’s not a critique of the writing. It’s a diagnosis" I miss…

Now it is a tell but eventually people may natutally start speaking like this!! This isn't mind control, just language evolution quiety nudged by AI. ;)

I've rather suspected that people are subconsciously adapting their language patterns to those that they hear over and over, and with AI content so prolific online now, it's natural that people are being programmed more and more with those patterns.

We trained a model on human language which is now in the business of itself retaining human language.

Re: Code is cheap now, but software isn't

#70

Post by cheald »

bustylasercanon wrote: post #64
jascha_eng wrote: post #3

Can't read this every paragraph ends with it's not x it's y. Just give me the prompt so I can read the real insights you have and not the generated fluff.

Again I'm the author.. and I actually wrote this. Maybe I need to stop reading AI posts and thinking that it's good writing? But will take the feedback on board and try not to over analyse each paragraph - it was a lot messier upon first draft but maybe ready better I guess.

I appreciated the essay, GPTisms aside. The core concept is one that I've felt for a long while, but you articulated it more cleanly than I've been able to. I'd explained it as into "the tasks are replaced, the job is not", but I like your distinction better.
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