Coding with AI

[Draco1962]

I have been using AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot) quite a bit to help me to pair the right hardware together (e.g., GPU, CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.) for recent PC builds, creating graphics, and the like. I have even taken a few free introductory online courses to help me fine-tune my queries. You are absolutely right when you compare it to "an incredibly talented employee but a very lazy one who needs a constant kick." One of the course instructors drew a similar comparison to "a very smart intern that is eager to please, but needs specific instructions and knowledgeable oversight."

My former company is throwing its lot in with AI, having dismissed many of the lower level developers, just leaving senior developers to handle the coding horrors and oversight. It isn't going very well, as a lot of institutional knowledge has left not only in development, but also in Quality & Business Systems Analysts, Product Owners, and the like. In the end, if you don't have all these parts acting as "guard rails" against incorrect data or data management, the results can be disastrous for the people who depend upon the results the most. 

[Draco1962]

What could possibly go wrong?

[Tom Speirs]

it did save a lot of time with the new video renderer and provided most the code but made a couple of big no nos and I still needed to do a lot of other stuff myself.

 

[Draco1962]

I find that, depending upon the query, it is helpful to ask the AI agent to provide supporting references to cross check for validity.