Jeff AtwoodSep 28, 2025

bad news "AI bubble doomers". I've found the LLMs to be incredibly useful and reduce the workload (and/or make people much, MUCH more effective at their jobs with the "centaur" model).

Is it overhyped? FUCK Yes. Salespeople Gotta Always Be Closing. But this is NOTHING like the moronic Segway (I am still bitter about that crap), Cryptocurrency, which is all grifters and gamblers and criminals end-to-end, and the first dot-com bubble where not NEARLY enough people had broadband or even internet access, plus the logistics systems to support shipping products was nowhere REMOTELY where it is today.

If you are expecting this "AI bubble" to pop anytime soon, uh.. you might be waiting a bit longer than you think? Overhyped, yes, overbuilding, sure, but not remotely a true bubble any any of the same senses of the three examples I listed above 👆. There's something very real, very practical, very useful here, and it is getting better every day.

If you find this uncomfortable, I'm sorry, but I know what I know, and I can cite several dozen very specific examples in the last 2-3 weeks where it saved me, or my team, quite a bit of time.

Show threadSeth RichardsSep 28, 2025

@codinghorror “I can cite several dozen very specific examples in the last 2-3 weeks where it saved me, or my team, quite a bit of time.”

Please do, if you can. Because most time I’ve tried to use LLMs for work the error rate ends up costing me MORE time than I would have spent without, and most AI boosters are short on specifics. We just had a presentation at my job on how we all need to be using AI with no case studies of how it’s actually been useful so far.

Show threadJeff AtwoodSep 28, 2025

@sethrichards here's one: a friend confided he is unhoused, and it is difficult for him. I asked ChatGPT to summarize local resources to deal with this (how do you get ANY id without a valid address, etc, chicken/egg problem) and it did an outstanding, amazing job. I printed it out, marked it up, and gave it to him.

Here's two: GiveDirectly did two GMI studies, Chicago and Cook County and we were very unclear what the relationship was, or why they did it that way. ChatGPT also knocked this out park and saved Tia a lot of time finding that information out, so she was freed up to focus on other work.

I could go on and on and on. Email me if you want ~12 more specific examples. With citations.

But also realize this: I am elite at asking very good, well specified, very clear, well researched questions, because we built Stack Overflow.

You want to get good at LLMS? learn how to ask better questions of evil genies. I was raised on that. 🧞

Show threadthe gripe ibis

@codinghorror you outsourced an interaction. you should probably just stop being friends with that person if you are automating your relationship with them. optimise properly.

@sethrichards

Oct 2, 2025 at 11:33pmWeb
Show threadJeff AtwoodOct 3, 2025
@thegarbagebird @sethrichards I apologize for not explaining in more detail. My partner regularly volunteers at the Alameda Food Bank. I asked her first since she knows a lot more about this, because almost any food bank needs to verify you are a "resident" of the area, which is challenging when you are unhoused. We went over it together manually for a while, then refined with a very detailed prompt, and then checked the results against what we knew. I also wrote this person a $19k check earlier in the year, which is the maximum allowable tax-free donation to an individual per year. I hope that helps. Any followup questions, feel free to email me, or set up a call via any method you like, and I can add additional detail as well. I love this person very, very much.
Show threadKlongeigerOct 3, 2025
@codinghorror @thegarbagebird @sethrichards one of the more useful applications of LLMs is cutting red tape. If you know that a report is basically filed unread because it is just a requisite to deter people from claiming what they are entitled to, using a machine to produce a BS filing is not only legit but should be encouraged.
Obviously, the correct way to go about that would be to drop the requirement, but that’s not going to happen.
Show threadthe gripe ibisOct 3, 2025

@klongeiger
it doesn't cut it, though. it outsources it.

i personally wouldn't use it for that, because if my document got picked in a random audit and the llm had generated non-useful output, then i could run the risk of being done for fraud.

objectively, i don't believe in luck. subjectively, i am that unlucky.

@codinghorror @sethrichards

Show threadJeff AtwoodOct 4, 2025
@thegarbagebird @klongeiger @sethrichards it can definitely depend on which field you work in, for sure. I think in some fields it is a far better fit than others, but I'd also say it's a good fit for most fields that don't require medical grade precision.
Show threadMajor Denis BloodnokOct 5, 2025

@codinghorror @thegarbagebird @sethrichards Apparently, you love them 1/50 as much as you like making random bets. Not enough to _pay tax_ on, or anything, obviously.

It sounds now like the slop was basically incidental to the whole process. Not my fault you put it front and centre, plagiarist.

Show threadJeff AtwoodOct 5, 2025
@denisbloodnok @thegarbagebird @sethrichards we paid all our taxes in full when SO sold. That's when I first met the weird kind of lawyers that say "oh yeah, the state of California will probably sue you when we do this {dodgy tax rich person thing}" and I said "uh.. what?" and he replied "yeah, our clients love fighting the state." I replied "well, I don't" and then sent an email terminating our initial engagement immediately. I can forward these emails to you if you like. Also people I work with advised me to move to Florida for better tax benefits. And become "Florida Man"? No thank you. We have enough of those already.
Show threadJasonOct 3, 2025
@thegarbagebird @codinghorror @sethrichards I don’t see how this is ‘automating a relationship’ whatsoever. Say more?