I can't help but think that some of the arguments here apply equally well to writing _code_ as they to to other substantive writings.
Writing code is thinking, AI code is often vague and wrong in hard-to-notice ways, and the (human) reader of code is the one that pays the cost for this later.
The cost/benefit analysis may still work out differently for code though...
I never use AI for writing but do so regularly for code. They are quite different to me.
My reason: code can be checked objectively. I can run it and confirm it works. I don't get attached to it. I don't feel pride in it (even when I write it by hand). Code just is. It's lifeless, inert, and entirely replaceable.
How do I do the equivalent for prose? How can I tell if my words "work"? Do they clearly convey my ideas to the intended audience? There's an element of subjectivity here forces me to identify personally with the prose.
Code has no such personality. I don't tie my identity or ego to code the same way I would an essay.
> I don't feel pride in it (even when I write it by hand).
Hard for me to imagine. You feel no pride in using a tool to accomplish a goal?
> Code has no such personality. I don't tie my identity or ego to code the same way I would an essay
Code certainly does have a personality. When working with teams for a while you can absolutely get a sense for which person wrote what code in a codebase, just by subtle little tells.
You may not tie your identity or ego to it, bully for you, but for me I take a lot of pride in writing clear and maintainable code that contributes to big projects in meaningful ways.
Maybe the problem with software is there's too many people who treat writing code as a mere means to an end, instead of a very important part of the process.
Well, there's some nuance. I'm not really proud of my code. I'm proud of the software that gets built with it.
Code is just sitting in a git repo somewhere, not necessarily running. That's a big distinction for me. Consider that code volume has increased 14x on github this year, but we see nowhere near that increase in the actual usable software. Code is cheap and getting cheaper. Running software ain't.
Another way to put it: I'm only interested in code so far as the value it provides. That value, not the code itself, is the source of pride. If I can provide similar value without any code at all, I'd gladly do so.
But code is the mean to get an idea across to someone. It’s the difference between “I think this can work” and “I’ve worked on this and it does work”. I’m part of the OpenBSD mailing list and it quite nice someone sharing a diff for an idea or experiment. It may not get merged, but it’s better than realm of deliberations.
vanschelven · · focus · HN ↗
Writing code is thinking, AI code is often vague and wrong in hard-to-notice ways, and the (human) reader of code is the one that pays the cost for this later.
The cost/benefit analysis may still work out differently for code though...
perrygeo · · focus · HN ↗
My reason: code can be checked objectively. I can run it and confirm it works. I don't get attached to it. I don't feel pride in it (even when I write it by hand). Code just is. It's lifeless, inert, and entirely replaceable.
How do I do the equivalent for prose? How can I tell if my words "work"? Do they clearly convey my ideas to the intended audience? There's an element of subjectivity here forces me to identify personally with the prose.
Code has no such personality. I don't tie my identity or ego to code the same way I would an essay.
bluefirebrand · · focus · HN ↗
Hard for me to imagine. You feel no pride in using a tool to accomplish a goal?
> Code has no such personality. I don't tie my identity or ego to code the same way I would an essay
Code certainly does have a personality. When working with teams for a while you can absolutely get a sense for which person wrote what code in a codebase, just by subtle little tells.
You may not tie your identity or ego to it, bully for you, but for me I take a lot of pride in writing clear and maintainable code that contributes to big projects in meaningful ways.
Maybe the problem with software is there's too many people who treat writing code as a mere means to an end, instead of a very important part of the process.
perrygeo · · focus · HN ↗
Code is just sitting in a git repo somewhere, not necessarily running. That's a big distinction for me. Consider that code volume has increased 14x on github this year, but we see nowhere near that increase in the actual usable software. Code is cheap and getting cheaper. Running software ain't.
Another way to put it: I'm only interested in code so far as the value it provides. That value, not the code itself, is the source of pride. If I can provide similar value without any code at all, I'd gladly do so.
skydhash · · focus · HN ↗