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I don't want to read what you didn't write

1070 points · 460 comments · mooreds

  1. blandcoffee · · focus · HN ↗
    I appreciate the direction of this article, and commend the author on publishing work, but the first sentence in the first paragraph is exactly what they lament.

    > A pattern I see is that people use AI to build something new, then they use AI to retrospectively summarize what they have already built into a design document. Reading a document like this isn’t just difficult—it is punishing.

    1. Apocryphon · · focus · HN ↗
      That's a classic calling card of LLM prose but that doesn't mean they actually used an AI. Though sure, it would be nice if we gave this style a name and then abolished it.
      1. sippeangelo · · focus · HN ↗
        No, usually humans write more than just a short unsubstantiated punchline in their "it's not x, it's y's", unless they're trying to sell you something.
      2. epihelix · · focus · HN ↗
        Well, not quite the classic calling card - LLMs generally use a contrast of opposites. (e.g. "it wasn't a bug -- it was a feature", although that predates LLMs :)

        TFA's use is more common in "normal" language: "it's not just [minor], it's [major]". (But, as others have pointed out, it was probably deliberately parodic anyway.)

      3. linguae · · focus · HN ↗
        I call it the “it’s not delivery—it’s DiGiorno” construct. I generally tune out when I see this construct, which is so prevalent on LinkedIn these days, which is inundated with clichéd writing.
        1. theandrewbailey · · focus · HN ↗
          > “it’s not delivery—it’s DiGiorno”

          We've had AI output all these decades, but never recognized it. Is this evidence of time travel?

          \s

        2. watwut · · focus · HN ↗
          To be fair, LinkedIn was pure slop even before ai arrived.
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