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Comment by cleandreams | Hacker News Reader

I have several issues with coding assistants.

Over time, will less skilled programmers produce more critical code? I think so. At some point a jet will fall out of the sky because the coding assistant wasn't correct and the whole profession will have a black eye.

The programmers will be less skilled because the (up until recently) lack of coding assistants provides a more rigorous and thorough training environment. With coding assistants the profession will be less intellectually selective because a wider range of people can do it. I don't think this is good given how critical some code is.

There is another related issue. Studies have shown that use of google maps has resulted in a deterioration of people's ability to navigate. Human mapping and navigation ability needs training which it doesn't get when google maps are used. This sort of thing will be an issue with coding.

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A wide range of people can build things. We trust only a few to build jets and skyscrapers, etc.

I think much the same will happen with regards to programming. Sure, most people will be able to bust out a simple script to do X. But if you want to do a "serious task", you're going to get a professional.

I spent 10 years pair programming. It's a similar situation in some ways.

Like, I can't know if the code my pair writes has flaws, just like an AI coding assistant.

I've never learned so much about programming as when pairing. Having someone else to ask or suggest improvements is just invaluable. It's very rarely I learn something new from myself, but another human will always know things I don't, just like an AI.

Of course, you don't blindly accept the code your pair/assistant writes. You have to understand it, ask questions, and most of all write tests that confirms it actually works.

This will be an issue with all knowledge work. The machines will have the knowledge and more and more we will just trust them because we don't know ourselves. Google Maps is a great example.

I want to build a "Google Maps that doesn't make you dumber."

For local navigation, first and foremost. The goal is to teach you how to navigate your locale, so you use it less and less. You still will want to ask it for traffic updates, but you talk to it like you would between locals who know all the roads.

As a model for how to do AI in a way that enhances your thinking rather than softens/replaces it.

I thought about something like this as well. Maybe it can suggest new routes so you can know new streets. It could work by vibration (1 vibration right, 2 left) like some running apps do so you don't even have to look at your phone and can focus on what is in front of you.

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