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dave@dthompson@toot.cat (2026-10-07 02:22:48)
I think we shouldn't say "handcrafted" or whatever when talking about LLM opposition. It does a disservice to our arguments and it's used against us by LLM boosters frequently.

Handcrafted vs. mass production is a false equivalence. LLMs are not the IKEA of software as their products are created with precision. Writing code without LLMs is not using hand tools instead of power tools. I use efficient and precise power tools when I'm woodworking and when I'm programming. I cut rabbet joints on my table saw instead of cutting dovetails with a hand saw. I use Emacs instead of Notepad.

LLMs are something else entirely because they are inherently probabilistic black boxes and they're extremely inefficient at what they do. I can set my rip fence and make the same exact cut a million times on my table saw whereas an LLM is more like using a slot machine.
---Reply---
dave@dthompson@toot.cat (2026-10-07 21:53:28)
and hey look an article published yesterday with a similar woodworking analogy https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2026/05-software-developers-are-not-okay#software-developers-are-not-doing-well