[KellyCriterion]

>> Compilers reason to some extent - for example type inference is definitely some deductive reasoning that I would have to do if the compiler didn't do it for me. <<

But this "reasoning" is done within a strict ruleset and includes "just find the optimum in X", and there is no space for "language interpretation", so I wouldnt call this reasoning compared to that type what LLMs are doing.

[win311fwg]

LLMs operate with fewer constraints and consequently a larger search space, but there is an apparent continuum seen in programming where constraints are relaxed and the search space grows. It's not just standard compilers and LLMs. There is a whole world of computer science found in-between.

In order to consider LLMs to be something different then there needs to be a clear dividing line and I'm not sure that there is. It seems more likely that it is the same type of reasoning, but that LLMs take it to a further degree.