David GerardMar 7
i am disconcerted by how many techies who saw through crypto *immediately* have fallen for AI krokodil
Show threadkatrinaMar 8
@davidgerard
With "AI", there is the perception that it sort-of works at the moment and they just need to fix a few bugs and everything will be perfect. Trying to challenge that argument is what I find most difficult.
Show threadDavid GerardMar 8
@katrinatransfem my usual answer is "you've been saying 'next model bro' for three years"
Show threadElias MårtensonMar 9

@davidgerard @katrinatransfem there is something fishy about the most recent influencer campaign. They even got Knuth to mention a specific product by name.

It's like they did psychological profiling on individuals, and then give them exactly what they need to praise them, and not their competitor (and of course push the concept as a whole bit only secondarily).

Show threadMae
@loke @davidgerard @katrinatransfem it's odd how it feels like it all happened at once. I don't buy into it being a grand conspiracy, but I also wish there was an explanation
Mar 9 at 12:24pmWeb
Show threadElias MårtensonMar 9
@Mae @davidgerard @katrinatransfem not a conspiracy, but a well executed marketing campaign, I think.
Show threadMaeMar 9
@loke @davidgerard @katrinatransfem I think an undisclosed guerrilla marketing campaign of this size qualifies as a conspiracy
Show threadElias MårtensonMar 9
@Mae @davidgerard @katrinatransfem has there been any youtubers as part pf this campaign? Youtube requires sponsored videos to be marked as being an ad.
Show threadbrib [has moved again]Mar 9

@loke @Mae @davidgerard @katrinatransfem My working hypothesis is that with the 4.6 model they made Claude better... at manipulating people

And we're seeing the results of that

Show threadDavid GerardMar 9

@sitcom_nemesis @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem Writing a post/podcast on that is in my list for this week. Trouble is how to nail it down, rather than just my vibes on the topic.

given the tremendous number of social media posts from formerly competent developers and the paucity of non-shit results, i'm pretty sure this is the answer

but proving or even demonstrating it is rather more work and i need the material

Show threadbrib [has moved again]Mar 9
@davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem I also notice that a lot of devs use Claude for really basic shit, like variable renames and version bumps (see: the chardet guy: https://github.com/psf/requests/commit/b2a1d33f571518ca9a6148e7da787cc5827f897a). And I wonder what's the point of using a whole LLM to change 2 lines of easily findable code
Increase chardet upper limit to 8 · psf/requests@b2a1d33

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

GitHub
Show threadCanine3625Mar 9
@sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem when people use LLMs to solve problems that are already solved with deterministic tools like "find and replace" or "spell check" or "reading the document" 🤦
Show threadDźwiedziuMar 9

@Canine3625
Yes, in that context even the broad concept of reading “reading” can be considered deterministic.

@sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem

Show threadLuke HarbyMar 9

@Canine3625 @sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem

This was my my favourite take.

https://mastodon.social/@nixCraft/115196659679067749

Show threadQuantum ⊂ AIMar 9

@sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem

every time you use an LLM for *anything*, it makes your brain a tiny bit smoother

Show threadfan boy 🪭Mar 9
@pikesley @sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem
Thank God. Bumpy brains are so gross.
Show threadElisabeth MMar 9
@pikesley @sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem maralago brain: unnaturally plumped
Show threadFace ThumbMar 9
@pikesley LLM is the sandpaper of the brain.
Show threadFayeMar 9

@sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem it requires a cognitive shift to go into tool use mode rather than the assumption that all engineering is now using the natural language part of the brain to argue with the rationalisation engine.

I know. Yes. I don’t like it either. Do you want cognitive decay? Because that’s how you get cognitive decay.

Show threadMarjorieRMar 9
@sitcom_nemesis @davidgerard @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem well if you too lazy or are saving on thinking about what you are doing then why not go the whole hog and get a chatbot to do all your thinking for you?
Show threadDavid Fleetwood - RG AdminMar 9
@davidgerard @sitcom_nemesis @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem I've noticed this too, it's on LinkedIn as well, people who were supposedly skeptics saying we've turned a corner.
Show threadDavid Fleetwood - RG AdminMar 9

@davidgerard @sitcom_nemesis @loke @Mae @katrinatransfem Interesting information here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk0hIOAwf6M

Interestingly polls show devs have been trusting AI tools less since 2024, not more, strongly contradicting the narrative that it's improving and has turned a corner.

AI Cognitive Debt: The Crisis Nobody Sees Coming

YouTube
Show threadLanda Mar 9

@loke seems to me that respected people in the field and overworked maintainers of structural open source projects would be juicier (and less conspicuous) targets right now.

@Mae @davidgerard @katrinatransfem

Show threadGryphon MyersMar 10

@loke @Mae @davidgerard @katrinatransfem https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/google-microsoft-pay-creators-500000-and-more-to-promote-ai.html

I have a hunch (no evidence) that they're also using platforms like mechanical turk to lay astroturf. AI companies are very used to paying people in the global south slave wages for data labeling. Why wouldn't they do the same for marketing?