Ana HevesiMar 31, 2024

In an age where gen AI makes it much cheaper to produce code, the ability to read, comprehend, and review code becomes that much more crucial.

Until and unless businesses and executives recognize this, they won’t actually be able to realize the economic upside of AI because they’ll be too busy creating so many fires which need putting out.
https://cute.is/@keith/112191562540684140

keith kurson (@[email protected])

@[email protected] i just watched out a LLM spit out code that would have brought down a webserver w/ an infinite loop, very nervous for when these c-levels start experimenting with launching insecure features built entirely by llms 🥴

Cuties
Show threadAna HevesiMar 31, 2024

Btw, the insight that reviewing code will become more important than producing code was introduced to me via this paper:

“Taking Flight with Copilot: Early insights and opportunities of AI-powered pair-programming tools”

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3582083

Taking Flight with Copilot: Early insights and opportunities of AI-powered pair-programming tools: Queue: Vol 20, No 6

Over the next five years, AI-powered tools likely will be helping developers in many diverse tasks. For example, such models may be used to improve code review, directing reviewers to parts of a change where review is most needed or even directly ...

Queue
Show threadAna HevesiMar 31, 2024

My assertion that grappling with the increasing importance of code review is literally a business imperative came to me while reading @grimalkina @KFosterMarks and @CSLee’s excellent work on AI skill threat:

https://www.pluralsight.com/resource-center/guides/new-developer-research-paper

Research Paper | The New Developer

Based on the latest research from the Developer Success Lab, this white paper shares a human-centered, evidence-based framework to help developers thrive during this transition to AI-Assisted coding.

Show threadAna HevesiApr 1, 2024

So, why are so many executives and investors overlooking this very basic reality that code produced is code which must be maintained, and that an acceleration of code produced thanks to gen AI means ~more risk~, not just more $$$?

I have friends who are Principal Engineers asking themselves this very question right now.

And in response, I point us to the classic Upton Sinclair quote:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

Show threadmhoye

@anthrocypher I've got this in an upcoming publication:

"Every line of code written today represents a testing, complexity, maintenance and refactoring burden your team will bear tomorrow, and the reality is that none of our customers want code. Our customers want _utility and functionality;_ code is a liability we accept so we can deliver that functionality. GenAI or not, nobody wants or needs an arbitrary quantity of code for its own sake."

Apr 1, 2024 at 2:40pmWeb
Show threadAna HevesiApr 1, 2024
@mhoye nailed it
Show thread0xC0DEC0DE07EAApr 6, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher no lies, but 😢
Show threadBill SeitzApr 6, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher code wants us to make more code!
http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki/PaperclipMaximizer
Paperclip Maximizer

Paperclip Maximizer

WebSeitz
Show threadIsaac LymanApr 6, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher Code has no inherent value. Text has no inherent value. Digital paintings have no inherent value. Maybe some of us thought they did, once. An avalanche of form without substance is one hell of a way to correct us.
Show threadGregApr 7, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher Don't tell me! I use Enterprise Design Thinking, so I do user research and then design the user experience and UI and work with the team to deliver that user experience in constant conversations with our Sponsor Users. Code is just one means to get there. (Documentation is another)
Show threadGregApr 7, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher what I'm implying but should have made explicit is that there's a goal (often a user experience) and optimizing that carefully and iteratively does quite a natural and effective job of delivering only what's needed to achieve that goal. From the base point of simplifying what's required to code, how unnecessary complexity is expunged from code is down the coder and not my domain.
Show threadFrank SchimmelMay 5, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher Very much this! I keep telling my students that no-one wants to use the software we build. People may still use it, but it is not what they want.
Show threadAsymmetricblueMay 5, 2024
@mhoye @anthrocypher Exactly. My tag line for years for other developers, management, product owners, etc. has been “all code is a liability” for all the reasons you mentioned, as well as expansion of security footprint/risk.
Show threadGaëtan PerraultMay 5, 2024

@mhoye @anthrocypher

I agree with your statement. But customers aren't the only stakeholders.

What do shareholders want?

In the case of most Tech firms, they want unfettered, unlimited revenue growth for future rent collection. These firms aren't paying dividends, so you need that share price to go up and you need more features to capture that revenue.

So how do you balance customer needs with shareholder needs? (Even if the latter may be pathological?)