If LLMs are the new compilers, enabling software to be built with natural language, why can't LLMs just generate bytecode directly? Why generate HLL code at all?
Both humans and LLMs benefit from non-leaky abstractions—they offload low-level details and free up mental or computational bandwidth for higher-order concerns. When, say, implementing a permissioning system for a web app, I can't simultaneously track memory allocation and how my data model choices aligns with product goals. Abstractions let me ignore the former to "spend" my limited intelligence on the latter; same with LLMs and their context limits.
Yes, more intelligence (at least in part) means being able to handle larger contexts, and maybe superintelligent systems could keep everything "in mind." But even then, abstraction likely remains useful in trading depth for surface area. Chris Sawyer was brilliant enough to write Rollercoaster Tycoon in assembly, but probably wouldn't be able to do the same for Elden Ring.
(Also, at least until LLMs are so transcendentally intelligent they outstrip our ability to understand their actions, HLLs are much more verifiable by humans than assembly is. Admittedly, this might be a time-limited concern)
> Also you wouldn’t want that, humans can’t review bytecode
The one great thing about automation (and formalism) is that you don't have to continuously review it. You vet it once, then you add another mechanism that monitors for wrong output/behavior. And now, the human is free for something else.
With reverse translation as needed.
I imagine that at some point they must wonder what their role is, and why the LLM couldn't do all of that independently.