wulrus

@wulrus@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Vibe coding has turned senior devs into ‘AI babysitters,’ but they say it’s worth it | TechCrunch⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  I am generally a sceptic myself, especially in my own area, which is software development. But recently in a board game community, someone was scolded for asking ChatGPT about a rule dispute (and it was wrong). All upvotes to unhelpful “AI bad” comments. I pointed out that while this was true 3 months ago, ChatGPT 5 (and only that one) can very accurately answer such questions when asked the right way, showed how to ask the user question and the (now correct) response, and mentioned my 35 board game test questions and results with major LLM flagship models. (Almost all LLMs did horribly, under 70% even in yes/no questions, but ChatGPT 5 with specific instructions or “Thinking” model got 100%.)

  Even as a sceptic, I can acknowledge that LLMs just jumped from completely useless to perfect in the past few months when it comes to this specific niche.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Vibe coding has turned senior devs into ‘AI babysitters,’ but they say it’s worth it | TechCrunch⁩ ⁨⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s completely true; it’s hard for me to judge on a small scale when I won’t (for good reasons) let it touch my customer’s production code.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Vibe coding has turned senior devs into ‘AI babysitters,’ but they say it’s worth it | TechCrunch⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  I find it also saves a certain “mental energy”.

  E. g. when I worked on a program to recover data from the old discontinued Windows photo app: I started 2 years ago and quickly had a proof-of-concept: Found out it’s just sqlite format, checked out the table structure, made a query to list the files from one album. So at that point, it was clear that it was doable, but the remaining 90 % would be boring.

  So after 2 years on pause, I just gave Gemini 2.5Pro the general problem and the two queries I had. It 1-shot a working powershell script, no changes required. It reads directly from the sqlite (imagine the annoyance to research that when you never ever use powershell!) and put the files to folders named by the former albums. My solution would have been worse, would probably have gone with just hacking together some copy-commands from SELECT and run them all once.

  That was pretty nice: I got to do the interesting part of building the SQL queries, and it did the boring, tiring things for me.

  Overall, I remain sceptical as you do. There is definitely a massive bullshit-bubble, and it’s not clear yet where it ends. I keep it out of production code for now, but will keep experimenting on the side with an “it’s just code completion” approach, which I think might be viable.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Vibe coding has turned senior devs into ‘AI babysitters,’ but they say it’s worth it | TechCrunch⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Currently, I write all production code at work without any AI assistance. But to keep up with things, I do my own projects.

  Main observation: When I use it (Claude Code + IDE-assistant) like a fancy code completion, it can save a lot of time. But: It must be in my own area of expertise, so I could do it myself just as well, only slower. It makes a mistake about 10 - 20 % of the time, most of them not obvious like compile errors, so it would turn the project into disaster over time. Still, seems like a senior developer could be about 50% - 100% more productive in the heat of the implementation phase. Most important job is to say “STOP” when it’s about to do nonsense. The resulting code is pretty much exactly how I would have done it, and it saved time.

  I also tried “vibe coding” by using languages and technologies that I have no experience with. It resulted in seemingly working programs, e. g. to extract and sort photos from an outdated data file format, or to parse a nice statistics out of 1000 lines of annual private bank statements. Especially the latter resulted in 500 lines of unmaintainable Python-spaghetticode. Still nice for my private application, but nobody in the world can guarantee that there aren’t pennies missing, or income and outcome switched in the calculation. So unusable for the accounting of a company or anything like that.

  I think it will remain code completion for the next 5 years. The bubble of trying more than next-gen code completion for seniors will burst. What happens then is hard to say, but it takes significant breakthroughs to replace a senior and work independently.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What would stop you from switching to a flip phone (or dumbphone) in 2025?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes, I had to delete lemmy, reddit, twitter, mastodon, all games etc.

  But I see 0 harm in:

  • 2FA authenticator apps (google authenticator, app for government ID, bank, …)
  • DHL (unlocks packing station / parcel distributing machine here)
  • calendar (with voice assistant)
  • Pixel, iPhone, Samsung and some others are a fantastic camera! 10 years ago, it’d be a great deal just for that one feature. I used to pay USD/EUR 250 - 500 for a hobby-level camera that was worse
  • read my mobile CO2 sensor
  • not crucial, but occasionally show someone something in a video call
  • send injured animal photo / video right to the wildlife rescue station for advice (~ 2x per year)
  • plain old mp3 player
  • some might read eBooks, which is a good use of it, but I still prefer a hardcopy

  So yes, on my 2nd smartphone only (first in 2021), but I find that it’s worth it these days.

  Enshittification intensifies, but a Linux phone might become very viable in a few years, especially when LLM adapters become easier to use. Self-hosted alternatives to google/apple photos are already very advanced.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who plays like that x_x⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  This is how it works: Push down, nuzzle points up! Image Push up, nuzzle goes down!

  How can anyone play differently?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who plays like that x_x⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Image

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren Questions Pentagon Awarding $200 Million Contract to Integrate Elon Musk’s “Grok” Into Military Systems Following the Chatbot’s Antisemitic Posts⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Weird. In the 80s, there was this loner in my class who pretended to be a Nazi robot. He walked around and asked everybody in a robotic voice: “Are you an Arian?” … “But your father has black hair. Conclusion: Not an Arian.” etc.

  Nobody got the joke. Must have been like the Comedian in Watchmen: Not a joke after all, just a reflection on the present, or future, in his case.

  Hodor!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft still can't convince folks to upgrade to Windows 11⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s roughly what I’m hoping for: Former top of the line 7th gen CPU ThinkPad, such as a P51 or P71, might become really cheap as soon as the small Linux used hardware market is satiated when Win10 support ends.

  For me, that’d be a massive upgrade :-)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft still can't convince folks to upgrade to Windows 11⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  It was already quite doable in late 1990s Suse, although it took a day and you actually had to read the book it came with. The partitioning was annoying and confusing for a first-timer, and the default packages were also lacking. Now, not harder than Windows.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨leading ai company⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  That statement would make a lot more sense with a benchmark graph based on standardised tasks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[Video] Cops not sure whether to arrest man with "Plasticine Action" shirt for supporting terrorism⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  To be fair, the (good) British cops are by far not as likely to assault an innocent person as many others. But they do love to stop you and have a chat if even the tiniest thing stands out. I once walked around London, 15 years old, with toy handcuffs on one wrist. Cop came up to me and wanted to know the whole story, like one of those super-chatty people. Where are you from, how old, name, where are the cuffs from, why am I wearing them right now at this moment, …

  He seemed happy with the answers, and we both moved on.

  Well, it’s still a bother, especially when you are not free to walk away at any moment.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[Video] Cops not sure whether to arrest man with "Plasticine Action" shirt for supporting terrorism⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s not just the two we see - they are apparently in radio contact with additional tax fraudsters / wasters, probably of higher rank or even with a law degree.

  Never let them tell they need more funds. Could defund plenty without affecting any actual service one bit.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨They'd just appear out of nowhere⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Seen them for decades, but thought it’s best to keep them a secret. Until Family Guy just casually mentioned them like they were no big deal! Not as crazy as I thought, after all …

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why LLMs can't really build software⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Interesting what he wrote about LLMs’ inability to “zoom out” and see the whole picture. I use Gemini and ChatGPT sometimes to help debug admin / DevOps problems. It’s a great help for extra input, a bit like rubberducking on steroids.

  Examples how it went:

  Problem: Apache-cluster and connected KeyCloak-Cluster, odd problems with loginflow. Reducing KeyCloak to 1 node solves it, so it says that we need to debug node communication and how to set the debug log settings. A lot of analysis together. But after a while, it’s pretty obvious that the Apache-cluster doesn’t use the sticky session correctly and forwards requests to the wrong KeyCloak node in the middle of the login flow. LLM does not see that, wanted to continue to dig deeper and deeper into supposedly “odd” details of the communication between KeyCloak nodes, althought the combined logs of all nodes show that the error was in load balancing.

  Problem: Apache from a different cluster often returns 413 (payload too large). Indeed it happens with pretty large requests, the limit where it happens is a big over 8kB without the body. But the incoming request is valid. So I ask both Gemini and ChatGPT for a complete list of things that cause Apache to do that. It does a decent job at that. And one of it is close: It says to check for mod_proxy_ajp use, since that observed limit could be caused by trying to make an AJP package to communicate with backchannel servers. It was not the cause; the actual mod was mod_jk, which also uses AJP. It helped me focus on watching out for anything using AJP when reviewing the whole config manually, so I found it, and the “rubberducking” helped indirectly. But the LLM said we must forget about AJP and focus on other possible causes - a dead end. When I told it the solution, it was like: Of course mod_jk. (413 sounds like the request TO the apache is wrong, but actually, it tries internally to create an invalid AJP package over 8kB, and when it fails blames the incoming request.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hotels have developed a new revenue stream: "algorithmic" smoke detectors⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Couldn’t that be interpreted as a confession that their air is at least as unsafe as staying with a heavy smoker the whole night, in terms of PM 2.5 and other hazards?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨As of 30 minutes ago at the time of posting, the NYPD has detained two young Black men after they refused to show ID without explanation or cause.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Bad cops, even the worst of the worst, do a normal job 99% of the time. It’s the other 1 % of their actions that have such a negative impact.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Or 50 and 29 - eww

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨No looky for you!⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Table top dishwashers usually have a window. My kid considered it a major disadvantage when we got a real dishwasher that the window was missing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨German court sends Volkswagen execs to prison over Dieselgate scandal⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  One insanity in the following years was how they thought people still wanted their next generation diesel.

  I’ve been working for them in the 2010s with the department to organise the staff car fleet. We ordered many electric vehicles years ahead from production and planned it all around electric vehicles: Charging stations, operating distance, some hybrids for long distance, software to calculate trips etc.

  Then a few months before we needed them, they said: We overproduced on the latest diesel generation and can’t keep up with the demand for electric vehicles, so we have to sell the ones you ordered. You can either go with a Tesla (for official Volkswagen business trips!) or have the diesel for free.

  It felt like there was a hysteria: Decision makers got it in their heads that the “hype” for electric vehicles was ideology-driven and not something people with buying power actually wanted today or in the near future. Bit like the republican administration thinking that “woke” is our main problem. Meanwhile, huge research and development departments did come up with the electric vehicles they sell today (and fully working hydrogen prototypes you won’t see in a store, just to be safe) and must have been quite frustrated that so few were produced.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Nicole endgame⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  When she finds out about this she can do an ama and be a superstar for one day

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Common Ground⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Don’t Americans salute the flag and sing the national anthem every day at school, one of the main reasons being respect to the WW 1 & 2 veterans, who went through hell, and often died, to stop an ideology where some people have worth & dignity and others don’t?

  A very conservative Jewish German journalist, Friedman, held an insightful speech in a German state parliament recently, attacking the right wing party that Musk and Trump love so much: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lizOiK1OHf8 (English auto subtitles are of very good quality.)

  He is very conservative, been in the conservative party for decades (until they tried to pass an anti immigration law with the right a few weeks ago), strong supporter of Israel, but against Netanyahu’s government. His parents were saved from the Holocaust by Schindler. But he understands the general pattern: Even though they don’t directly attack Jewish people, at least not yet, they don’t accept that everybody is somebody, as he puts it, and that’s where it starts.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Common Ground⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I appreciate any attempt to win these people back. I mean, there’s nothing to lose. But they were not lied to. Trump was honest about the big picture and it’s exactly what they wanted.

  These people are lost for democracy and for reason. To stupidity or to plain evil.

  Just look how even people like Dick Cheyney saw this coming and tried everything to stop what’s happening now.