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Right, we all know this. LLMs write a lot of bad code that cannot be realistically reviewed. I've even had code submitted to me by juniors which didn't make an
by mgaunard 1y ago
Right, we all know this. LLMs write a lot of bad code that cannot be realistically reviewed.
I've even had code submitted to me by juniors which didn't make any sense. When I ask them why they did that, they say they don't know, the LLM did it.
What this new trend is doing is generating a lot of noise and overhead on maintenance.
The only way forward, if embracing LLMs, is to use LLMs also for the reviewing and maintenance, which obviously will lead to messy spaghetti, but you now have the tools to manage that.
But the important realization is that for most businesses, quality doesn't really matter. Throwaway LLM code is good enough, and when it isn't you can just add more LLM on top until it does what you think you need.
- djeastm 1y ago>When I ask them why they did that, they say they don't know, the LLM did it. I can't imagine a professional software developer in a position of authority leaving that statement unchallenged and uncorrected. If a person doesn't stand behind the code they write, they shouldn't be employed. Full stop.
- mgaunard 1y agoThe person in question was a junior. Of course I didn't approve the PR.
- JonChesterfield 1y ago> When I ask them why they did that, they say they don't know, the LLM did it. This should resolve itself via rounds of redundancies, probably targetting the senior engineers that are complaining about the juniors, then by insolvency.
- emporas 1y ago>LLMs write a lot of bad code that cannot be realistically reviewed. It can be reviewed. The job descriptions I have encountered so far, (thousands of them), not one of them mentions reading fast as a skill even more important that writing/typing. Put it another way, I have yet to go to an interview with the sole purpose of reading code, and writing code as an insignificant detail. For example: 5 years of reading Python/Django code as experience. Anyway that's gonna change, reading code/documentation fast, not even reviewing just reading, is the skill of utmost importance to hire for! Donald Knuth: “Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute.” [1] [1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6086714-programs-are-meant-to-be-read-by-humans-and-only https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6086714-programs-are-meant-...
- svat 1y agoDonald Knuth never said that. It's from the preface to SICP, by Abelson and Sussman. I've edited the quote on Goodreads (though I don't know how long it will stick).
- svat 1y agoThe actual quote in the SICP preface: > Our design of this introductory computer-science subject reflects two major concerns. First, we want to establish the idea that a computer language is not just a way of getting a computer to perform operations but rather that it is a novel formal medium for expressing ideas about methodology. Thus, programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. I've updated the quote on Goodreads again, but it seems like a losing battle to stem the tide of careless/misattributed quotes (it's even found its way to books and papers by not-too-meticulous authors).