[jonstokes]

I don't believe that at all. That is total nonsense, in fact. My criticism is of this linting tool, not of artificial intelligence. I take it for granted that anything I can do, an AI will eventually be able to do much better. A linting tool is not an AI.

[nimnio]

According to some definitions, AI is just "the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages." So by some definitions, a linter is absolutely an AI.

Semantics aside, it's not important to slm_HN's point. We can call it an AI, an algorithm, or just a computer, and in any case it's still possible for it to find errors beyond spelling ones.

"... there is a small part of me that enjoys playing Mr. Party Pooper when I see a mob of enthusiastic programmers trying to tie down some great cultural Gulliver with a thousand tiny little automated, black-and-white rules."

I'd reexamine that part, if I were you. I suspect it may be bigger than you think it is, especially since you've already pigeonholed the creators.