[Animats]

They can make it unnecessary for you to understand.

Consider hash tables. Nobody implements a hash table by hand any more. I've written some, but not in this century. Optimal hash table design is a specialist subject. Do you know about robin hood algorithms? Changing the random number generator's seed to discourage collision attacks? A basic hash table starts to slow down around 70% full. Modern hash tables can get above 90% full before they have to expand.

Who keeps Knuth's Fundamental Algorithms handy any more? I own both the original edition and the revised edition. They're boxed up in the garage. I once read that book cover to cover. That was a long time ago.

That's not AI. That's solving the problem and putting it in a black box. That's how technology progresses.

[malfist]

That's obviously not what I'm talking about. If you're asking an AI to write an optimal hash table algorithm, something is clearly wrong. I'm talking specifically about understanding the business domain and problem you are trying to solve.

[coldtea]

>I'm talking specifically about understanding the business domain and problem you are trying to solve.

And that's what people use AI everyday to help with, so?

[skydhash]

> That's not AI. That's solving the problem and putting it in a black box. That's how technology progresses.

The key word is solving. Meaning someone, after coming up with the solution, has taken times to prove that it works well in all usual and most extreme cases. With their reputation on the line.

That’s why you trust curl, ffmpeg, Knuth’s books,… but you don’t trust random cat on the internet. We don’t trust AI and the cost to review its output is not a great tradeoffs compared to just think and solve the problem.