4 ms·

Even if the demo was 100% correct, I don't even understand why it would have been impressive. "Traditional" search engines will give you this answer instantly.

Even if the demo was 100% correct, I don't even understand why it would have been impressive. "Traditional" search engines will give you this answer instantly. Isn't the point to do this stuff better? To do things a normal search engine can't do? Yesterday my coworker was talking about using Gemini and wanted to show me how neat it was. So he typed a questing into Google. The search results came back instantly with the correct information as the #1 link. 5 seconds later, the Gemini box displayed the correct information. What the hell is so impressive about that?

andrewmcwatters 2y ago
I’ve seen a lot of engineering jerking off lately with some other teams I’ve hung around and it’s like developers don’t understand that if the end result isn’t better it’s irrelevant to consumers. But hey look at this cool technical thing we can do! It’s so cringey.
verdverm 2y ago
> To do things a normal search engine can't do This is one of the points missing in most conversations. Each has strengths and weaknesses, LLMs are not going to full-on replace search, but can often be a better starting point. The main advantage to LLMs is that you can either (1) provide vague questions or (2) provide a whole bunch of context https://topicalsource.dev/chat/023e7e54-947b-490d-bcd8-89cc2c5bfa9d https://topicalsource.dev/chat/023e7e54-947b-490d-bcd8-89cc2... This example shows, for a python error printed at the terminal, how you can get a really nice response by also sharing a code snippet and directory layout (extra context)
- Kon-Peki 2y ago
  I know that I've had plenty of situations where I know kind of what I'm looking for but I can't describe it and run 10-20 searches trying to figure out what to type to get the result I'm looking for. I bet that most people have had that kind of experience but if not would find this kind issue to be relatable. A demo showing an LLM helping to solve some contrived problem of this sort would resonate with people, and show a valid use case for LLMs in the search process. That's what would be impressive.
  - verdverm 2y ago
    To add, sometimes I know what the issue is, but the results are to generic. This is where the extra context comes in. Using an LLM is like posting to and getting a reply on a forum in real-time, with both equally likely to give you a right/wrong answer to boot!

andrewmcwatters 2y ago

I’ve seen a lot of engineering jerking off lately with some other teams I’ve hung around and it’s like developers don’t understand that if the end result isn’t better it’s irrelevant to consumers. But hey look at this cool technical thing we can do! It’s so cringey.

verdverm 2y ago

> To do things a normal search engine can't do This is one of the points missing in most conversations. Each has strengths and weaknesses, LLMs are not going to full-on replace search, but can often be a better starting point. The main advantage to LLMs is that you can either (1) provide vague questions or (2) provide a whole bunch of context https://topicalsource.dev/chat/023e7e54-947b-490d-bcd8-89cc2c5bfa9d https://topicalsource.dev/chat/023e7e54-947b-490d-bcd8-89cc2... This example shows, for a python error printed at the terminal, how you can get a really nice response by also sharing a code snippet and directory layout (extra context)

Kon-Peki 2y ago
I know that I've had plenty of situations where I know kind of what I'm looking for but I can't describe it and run 10-20 searches trying to figure out what to type to get the result I'm looking for. I bet that most people have had that kind of experience but if not would find this kind issue to be relatable. A demo showing an LLM helping to solve some contrived problem of this sort would resonate with people, and show a valid use case for LLMs in the search process. That's what would be impressive.
- verdverm 2y ago
  To add, sometimes I know what the issue is, but the results are to generic. This is where the extra context comes in. Using an LLM is like posting to and getting a reply on a forum in real-time, with both equally likely to give you a right/wrong answer to boot!