Lindsey KuperMar 7
another thing about this whole CS-professors-using-LLMs discussion is that I've been hearing some of my colleagues excitedly say things like, "now that LLMs can generate good code, I don't need grad students anymore!", which horrifies me because of what it implies about how they thought of grad students this whole time: as code generation machines, I guess?
Show threadLindsey KuperMar 7
I don't think this is LLMs' fault -- it's revealing something that was already rotten about academia, especially STEM academia. I hate the way we talk about grad students. I don't use the word "trainees" -- it grosses me out. You train *dogs* (or LLMs). You *advise* students. My students are for the most part more capable than me at research -- if not from day one, then certainly after a couple years. My job is to keep the lights on and provide the occasional grizzled-old-timer perspective.
Show threadJeffrey P. Bigham 🔥🔥Mar 7
@lindsey i definitely use the word advise, but there's always been a sort of dual role for students in CS -- they do work (like coding) while they are learning about research. that is one reason why CS phds are almost always/always provided a stipend, and it's usually higher than in other fields. although we can/should always be reassessing whether it's enough, it's always been better than a range of disciplines, from english to medicine
Show threadAndreas KMar 8

@jbigham
Well yes, people still assume that "coding" is the hard work.

Literally every other phase in the long run to a MVP is more and harder work than coding.
@lindsey

Show threadJeffrey P. Bigham 🔥🔥
@yacc143 @lindsey i agree people assume that, although my point is slightly different -- professors need people to implement their ideas, and that has meant coders for a lot of computer science (and over time many other fields)
Mar 8 at 5:38pmWeb
Show threadLindsey KuperMar 9
@jbigham @yacc143 "professors need people to implement their ideas" doesn't describe how it works in my group at all. Most of the good ideas come from my students. My job is to provide the kind of environment in which those ideas can develop; to push back on the flaws; to point out relationships between their ideas and other work I know about; to help them figure out how to explain their work in various fora; and to convince funding sources that all this is worthwhile.
Show threadLindsey KuperMar 9
@jbigham @yacc143 I have ideas, but so far in eight years of doing this, the best ideas to come out of our group have all been my students' ideas, developed with guidance from me.
Show threadJeffrey P. Bigham 🔥🔥Mar 9
@lindsey @yacc143 i see, i have found it's sometimes a failure mode when 1st/2nd year students expect to have great ideas all on their own right from the beginning, but amazing when it happens. building out someone else's germ of an idea is some of the best research experience/ apprenticeship. that said, i agree the best ideas often come from students, which is the fun of it all, but ime rare for that to be in year one.