269 karma · joined January 26, 2021
for instance, you will find Stephen Colbert's name in there - because an email sent between two of epstein's buddies included a line where the author thought that epstein would enjoy Colbert's show
so his name is in the files, and he really has nothing to do with it - and I bet there's a lot more, considering the sources of the files
I don't have any real desire to "have my productivity lifted" by ai codegen. I'd rather write my own code than debug someone else's. I like using the tdd cycle to let a design emerge. I care about the details in my code. I aim for maintainability over speed.
which do you think requires more craftsmanship: 1. the guy who flips a switch and watches the machine implement the design, or 2. the guy who implements the design by hand
it's an easy answer: which one would cost more? which one would be sought-after? which one would be at the local walmart?
and the machine can arguably do better than a human - but we still treasure the craftsmanship of the human who produces such things far over the outputs of a machine, most especially far over outputs that are based on dated techniques, resistant to improving, and clearly derivative.
you could make other arguments about ai codegen, but this one - sorry bub, you shot yourself down in the first section - at some point, you're not an artisan wielding a better tool - you're just a monkey pushing a lever, and honestly, a lot of software these days doesn't really need a craftsman, so go ahead and be an honest blue-collar worker.
good luck
In other words - companies actively choose not to be authentic in the name of profit, and I don't see that changing significantly now, or ever.
On top of which, most consumers are just interested in price. It's how Temu continues to survive with all the ridiculous rugpulls they do on customers.
I don't know if most people there just don't know about it, or just don't care. But there literally is a solution baked into their constitution.
I'd rather have the "incorrect" behavior from nginx than try to track down arbitrary 404s due to bodged url construction, any day.
because that's a valid concern I have with automating all the things - when one of those things does something I don't want because someone else managed to slip it a command to do so, or when that thing's data is breached.
I might even pay a subscription fee for a service which does this on my behalf (no more than $5 a month, and an easy sell at $1-2 pm), tho that has it's own problems, in that I'd have to allow it to authorise as me. So, something better would be an app which launches an oauth login at google (for example), then uses that token for that session only (ie, requires user intervention each time). I'd probably run this a few times a week.
It's extra hilarious to hear someone you _thought_ treated their code work as a craft refer to "producing 3 weeks worth of work in the last week" because (a) I don't believe it, not for one bit, unless you are the slowest typist on earth and (b) it clearly positions them as a code _consumer_, not a code _creator_, and they're happy about it. I would not be.
Code is my tool for solving problems. I'd rather write code than _debug_ code - which is what code-gen-bound people are destined to do, all day long. I'd rather not waste the time on a spec sheet to convince the llm to lean a little towards what I want.
Where I've found LLMs useful is in documentation queries, BUT (and it's quite a big BUT) they're only any good at this when the documentation is unchanging. Try ask it questions about nuances of the new extension syntax in c# between dotnet 8 and dotnet 10 - I just had to correct it twice in the same session, on the same topic, because it confidently told me stuff that would not compile. Or in the case of elasticsearch client documentation - the REST side has remained fairly constant, but if you want help with the latest C# library, you have to remind it all the time of the fact - not because it doesn't have any information on the latest stuff, but because it consistently conflates old docs with new libraries. An attempt to upgrade a project from webpack4 to webpack5 had the same problems - the llm confidently telling me to do "X", which would not work in webpack 5. And the real kicker is that if you can prove the LLM wrong (eg respond with "you're wrong, that does not compile"), it will try again, and get closer - but, as in the case with C# extension methods, I had to push on this twice to get to the truth.
Now, if they can't reliably get the correct context when querying documentation, why would I think they could get it right when writing code? At the very best, I'll get a copy-pasta of someone else's trash, and learn nothing. At the worst, I'll spin for days, unless I skill up past the level of the LLM and correct it. Not to mention that the bug rate in suggested code that I've seen is well over 80% (I've had a few positive results, but a lot of the time, if it builds, it has subtle (or flagrant!) bugs - and, as I say, I'd rather _write_ code than _debug_ someone else's shitty code. By far.
I see that the official site link on the release page doesn't go anywhere (https://lax-lang.pp.ua/)
I have a 15yo son, and I can confidently state that he quickly forgets skills he has show proficiency in when they aren't practiced regularly. Yes, there may not be much need to make students take their long division skills to the max with massive numbers, but there definitely is value in having the method firmly entrenched for the times when they are guaranteed not to have a calculator (or phone) handy. And mental arithmetic should be a lot faster than grasping for a calculator (and definitely faster than grasping for a phone, finding a calc app, launching it). It personally makes me a little frustrated and sad when people can't do simple arithmetic - and I have to end up waiting for them to find a calculator to verify the simple sum I've just done in my head, eg when receiving change from a vendor.
We don't all have to be adding machines, but it would be really nice if the average person could do basic arithmetic without having a panic attack because they're nowhere near a phone.
I don't mind an ad. Put it somewhere where it doesn't break the flow of the page or video, and we're all good.
However, people got so thirsty for ad revenue, it became a game of "find the content" on most sites. At least an ad blocker restores some sanity and I can read the article. I pay for YT premium to drop the ads, especially on devices like my tv, where I don't want to muck about with intermediate tech like a pihole. And I don't mind paying a reasonable amount for stuff I enjoy. I don't mind paying for YT prem.
Ad blockers are being targeted here, but it's a misdirection to blame them. Blame the people who make shit sites you can't read. Blame the corporations which have to turn a profit whilst charging you nothing. All good. But don't blame the user for trying to just survive on the net, with all the ad spam and especially all the deceptive advertising out there. Blaming the user and the blocker is a complete grifter move.
In addition, the web is now currently on a crazy downward cycle as everyone tries to block ai agents, all the while making the experience for legitimate users worse. But isn't that just the way? Most things that suck do so because someone has exploited the weaknesses of the system for personal gain, and someone had had to impose restrictions.
The web is shit because people are selfish and shit. Most especially the money hungry ai grifters trying to get us to by a faulty product to break them out of the hole they dug.
On top of which - these products just aren't that good. They may seem good enough to some at the major loss-leader costs that they're paying right now, but it's unsustainable. Either it has to collapse on its own or it will collapse when inevitably prices have to go up to at least break-even, which they aren't anywhere near.
It's hype and lies sandwiched in a neat little greed burrito.