4 ms·
> For coding you always want to go with the best model in the category This is transparently false, because the best "model" is still competent human developer
by lunar_mycroft 5mo ago
> For coding you always want to go with the best model in the category
This is transparently false, because the best "model" is still competent human developers. They're just more expensive. If you're willing to use current LLMs at all, it means you're willing to sacrifice quality for a better price, and your disagreement with the comment you were replying to is entirely about what the optimum tradeoff is.
- aspenmartin 5mo agoWell it may be false that you always want the best model, but the point is performance of you+<agent> is far more cost effective than you+someone else
- lunar_mycroft 5mo agoMaybe, but that's a different claim than the one I was responding to. And also raises the question of "if the lower quality but cheaper output of frontier models is more cost effective than humans, is the even lower quality but even cheaper output of OSS models is more cost effective still?" With an absolute rule like GP suggested ("no, you always want the best code generator") the answer is clear, but it get much murkier if you reject such rules (as you have to to be an LLM coding proponent)
- aspenmartin 5mo agoI think that’s a fair and good q and point.
- noname120 5mo agoIt was true 6 months ago, not anymore. Frontier models now outperform developers on many tasks, be it on quality/readability/maintainability, and let’s not talk about speed…
- suddenlybananas 5mo agoWhy is anthropic hiring software developers then?
- aspenmartin 5mo agoBecause they still need them?
- suddenlybananas 5mo agoWhy would they still need them if "[f]rontier models now outperform developers on many tasks, be it on quality/readability/maintainability, and let’s not talk about speed"
- aspenmartin 5mo agoBecause to replace a SWE you need them to reliably outperform developers on ALL tasks
- suddenlybananas 5mo agoBut anthropic already had plenty of developers. Why would they actively need to hire more if the workload is all being automated?
- aspenmartin 5mo agoBecause it’s a force multiplier at this stage in the capability ladder. ROI of developers is arguably higher or will become higher in a matter of months.
- hajile 5mo agoThat's some really fast goalpost moving. If AI could outperform humans, Anthropic would NEVER release that model. Instead, they'd use it to create a new google, photoshop, office, windows, etc for cheap then undercut all those companies and taking over the entire software industry.