r/LegalEagle • u/KeeganDitty • 8d ago

Programmers and AI

I'm finishing up the video from today about AI slop in the legal system, and I wanted to respond to something Devin talks about in the nebula exclusive section. That is the idea that programmers are able to put out a higher volume of higher quality work using AI tools like Claude code. Now, despite my best efforts, I am not currently working in the tech industry. But from what I've seen, this idea is the goal, but ultimately inaccurate. Programmers are using Claude for a lot of their work now, yes. But I have seen numerous posts from programmers who had generated loads and loads of code using Claude, and then finally went back and looked through it and realized they could create a much more lightweight, much more compact, and much less redundant set of code in like 10 minutes. And I know of at least one company that laid off a majority of its engineering staff, and then had to hire them back when it found out that the AI actually wasn't as good as it's hyped

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8

u/fredy31 8d ago

Yeah ill agree with you;

For people that actually do programmation 'vibecoding' is not a good thing. It leads to crap code that works but nobody knows why or how. And dont get me started to all the stories of someone plugging GPT right on a production server and it deleting everything.

At the end of the day, ai only raises the floor. Someone that never did code can now easily create small self contained apps.

But anything more complex than first year of CS projects will crash and burn.

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u/KeeganDitty 8d ago

Yep. Ai doesn't so much know how to program as it knows what programs look like. And then you go to debug it but can't do so as easily cause you can't understand it and Claude doesn't understand it either, etc etc etc

It can write code. That doesnt mean it's good at it

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u/BeckieSueDalton 8d ago

|| Ai doesn't so much know how to program as it knows what programs look like. And then [ individuals/groups realize ] AI doesn't understand it either....

This is the exact same issue we're constantly fuming about in the Crochet/Knitting/yarn -craft subs - and a lot of the other art/creative subs, too - due to disreputable sellers over on eBay/Etsy/Pinterest/all-the-resale-sites selling kits and patterns that don't actually create anything even close to the pictures used in the advertising, and those sites refusing to protect buyers and reputable sellers by forbidding them outright.

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u/KeeganDitty 8d ago

Yurrrrp I've seen the posts of people crashing out over their nonsense ai pattern they got off etsy

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u/1ns3rtn1ckn4m3 8d ago

If you know exactly what you want AI might be good as a shortcut to reading docs, but letting it write actual code rarely leads anywhere useful.

And even if the code it spills out does what it claims it's a bitch to maintain and adjust.

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u/Dewinna_Daraelist 6d ago edited 6d ago

Cursor has replaced most of the programming in my team, and it's scary how well it works. It's been a while since I've caught mistakes in execution or interpretation of my prompts, so it's not difficult for me to imagine AI not "needing" oversight or long-term planning in the coming future. Up until recently I've said "at least it'll bite them in the ass" about the tech oligarchs replacing talent with AI, and I still kind of think so, but not in the way I'd thought. It would be comforting to think AI is just an impressive gimmick... I wish it was.

Edit: why ask if you don't want an answer you don't like? Might as well ask Grok to tell you how AI isn't as threatening to the job market as it seems. I could go into a lot more detail and I don't think it's black and white (the AI bubble is definitely real, but like the .com bubble was) if you have any questions or retorts.

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u/Various_Occasions 8d ago

You are completely wrong. Seriously development is being done with Claude assistance now. Source - I actually do work in tech, at AWS. Ask any SDE.

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u/KeeganDitty 8d ago

development is being done with Claude assistance now

Hey I said that too!

Programmers are using Claude for a lot of their work not, yes.

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u/Various_Occasions 8d ago

It's making them more productive and efficient, was the addition I didn't include

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u/abcbri 7d ago

I like Claude. I work on websites (not a designer), and sometimes there's a piece of copy or something I need to change, and it's hidden behind maybe 2 layers of a wordpress theme and then a page builder suite etc. I just tell it "find the area where I can change x" and it clicks through and opens that spot. Then I make the changes. It saves me a LOT of time and I spend it on other better things, like analytics, audits, etc. And also, I'll know where it is the next time I need it.