LLMs can write a large fraction of the tedious code a developer will ever need to write, and most code on most projects is tedious.

Added to korrents 29 Aug 2026 · How quotes work · Something wrong? Tell us

Where this collides

• Cannot both be true

  AI is welcome as a better search engine and a pair programmer that does not drive, but writing the code itself is not something to hand over to it.

  Ptacek says LLMs can write a large fraction of the tedious code a developer will ever write, and that most code on most projects is tedious. Hansson’s position — since abandoned — was that a model is welcome as a search engine and a pair programmer that does not drive, and that writing the code is not something to hand over. The claims are incompatible whoever currently holds them.

• In tension with

  Effective use of AI coding tools requires domain expertise: the tool should be used as an assistant, not as a replacement for the engineer.

  Ptacek’s fraction is large enough to reshape the job. Hashimoto’s condition is that the human already holds the domain expertise the tool is assisting. Both can be true of different developers, and which one is typical is the disagreement.

Shared subject first, then similar wording. They may agree or disagree.

• Once a language model reads the results, search can trade precision for recall, because the model does not care that the right link came ninth. ASAravind Srinivas19 Jun 2024LLMsGoogle
• Proprietary data is not an advantage in training large language models, because no company's holdings are large enough to matter. BEBenedict Evans2 Sept 2025LLMsGoogle
• The best use of an LLM for learning is as a souped-up search engine that points you at the right human-written resource. GSGrant Sanderson30 Jun 2026LLMsGoogle
• A company that is a genuine climate champion should not need to be forced into climate action. EAEmily Atkin19 Aug 2026Google
• A company's staff-engineer bar should be set against the best companies in the industry rather than against its own history, which is what makes title inflation a real cost. TPThuan Pham1 Apr 2026Google

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