HN user

lnfromx

10 karma
Posts0
Comments20
View on HN
No posts found.

Don't want to be rude but thats the last-resort-argument people make when defending LLMs. Its always about wrong utilization or the wrong test. If LLMs are so capable and so useful where is the "AI" fueled, real economic growth ? Why is Software still not dead cheap ? I really see how useful LLMs are especially for search. Its amazing and I use it every day. Also sometimes it can generate decent code. But this is still only a marginal improvement of productivity which leads to the big question I have: Why is it so hard to see the value created by LLMs if they are really the innovation they are promised to be ? Imo it should be trivial to see the benefit of such an innovation, kind of like it was with the wheel or the computer. For AI this is still a big ongoing discussion with not much to show. What am I missing ?

If the critique itself turns out to be wrong. Using LLMs does not equal endorsement nor does it make valid points to critizise disappear. "using LLMs" has no clear definition and can still be in line with the critique.

There is barely anything more rewarding than teaching someone something, to watch the other person grow

I think many junior devs (or aspiring junior devs) look for exactly this experience. This is a matching problem we haven't solved yet. Is Open Source the solution ? I really think it has to be solved if we want truely reliable software in the future.

But Anthropic would be profitable if they stop training cries

No seriously, I recently heart someone say that and it may even be correct. However I assume this only to be correct if a stop in training doesn't change the current revenue environment - which it absolutely would. I am still convinced a lot of demand for tokens is artificial in the sense that people buy tokens because thats what you do right now (and its convenient) not because the roi is so great.

But are we really still learning ? I feel like we already converge to a set of use cases. Also I am always wondering if LLMs are what they promise to be, why is it so difficult to find sources of real (measurable) value ? Wouldn't a disillusion of those overpromises trigger a reduction in demand ?

Okay lets suppose all those companies are profitable if training would stop today. What if token demand is shrinking ? I think big parts of the current demand is artificially build by e.g. FOMO and marketing without real value generated by them. There is no indication in economic data about some productivity boom resulting from AI usage. Next thing is Energy costs - that will soon eat into profitability too. I don't see how this bubble can't burst.

Problem is LLMs still produce very often code that disappoints. This ereases trust in it for me and makes me always regret the decision to try it yet again. In order to cope with that I try to read and understand the code to verify. But then there is no "scaling of value produced" because its not really faster than doing it all by myself - is this a me problem ? LLMs are no doubt great for searching, generating ideas etc. but programming...?

ThinkNext Design 6 months ago

Oh yes I see that. I got my first ThinkPad last year and the only one that wasn't loaded with "AI" nonsense was a P1. Despite the enormous size and weight it's a similar experience than old ones gave me when I tried them. I guess thats the option for me as long as possible. At some point we have to switch to something newer anyway...

The title is a bit misleading because the article says the shortage is about to increase dramatically again in the future, due to a lack of MINT skills in younger generations and an aging population. Also imo there is more than enough to do in this sector in Germany. Might therefore be rather the economic environment than some fundamental reversal.

Math Is Erotic 12 months ago

This reminds me of countless conversations with peers, where we were exploring our experiences. Does anyone know an equivalent or even better essay ?

Looking at e.g. the Solow Model better technology will indeed increase efficiency as the output per worker increases which will lead to economic growth. However I think you are right. This is an oversimplification with regards to AI because in the end its also about which products are being impacted. Also the product quality is left out in that scenario so it gets tricky. E.g. I would personally not like to read even one AI generated book as of today.

„It‘s entirely possible to sway your group of friends from WhatsApp to Signal“ is an assumption, I don‘t think is universally true. Especially since you base it on your own experience. I just recently made the switch but for me it meant cutting some contacts for now. Especially non-tech people put you in a tinfoil-hat category pretty fast so its not an easy problem if you can‘t communicate well enough.

This. Just look at Math Professors. I think of them as incredibly rich. The compensation of their life enjoyment, fulfillment, freedom and free time is not visible, but could possibly be estimated very high, monetarily. For instance, one estimation of fulfillment could be the price of yachts and other status symbols of super rich people.