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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   12296 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 13, 2026

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For example, you currently can't simply ask "Hello Mr. Claude the site latency is too high, please fix it,"

Given access to logs, metrics, etc. I expect Claude would in fact be able to fix this.

Capability hits a wall: For the greybeards, nothing happens, for the kids, those who choose the manual route will come out ahead.

We have already exited the "nothing happens" condition given present capabilities. The graybeards are much better off acting in a staff+ capacity using LLMs than writing code themselves. The question of what to do with junior engineers is an interesting one.

The question of what to do with junior engineers is an interesting one.

That's easy. Fire the greys and replace them with juniors that have claude. Same productivity, half the wage.

Juniors should be incapable of operating at the scope and scale of seniors. Their tasks must be small in scope and complexity to have a hope of success. Fortunately seniors can guide them through such work.

Some people are going to learn these lessons the hard way.

Juniors should be incapable of operating at the scope and scale of seniors. Their tasks must be small in scope and complexity to have a hope of success. Fortunately seniors can guide them through such work.

I guess I'm a senior then because I do maximum scope and complexity at my company. Strangely a lot of firms still deny I'm senior and want me to in practice be 30 years old for considering me for such a role.

It is presently unclear if a junior engineer who has only ever used Claude can become a graybeard.

Presently unclear to whom? Not to everybody, surely?

To many, including me.

Of course. But does that makes it presently unclear, in a general sense, or just unclear to you and people like you? What if it is clear to me?

But does that makes it presently unclear, in a general sense, or just unclear to you and people like you?

It does make it presently unclear in a general sense.

What if it is clear to me?

Then nothing. Do you want a cookie?

Why is it that if something is unclear to you, it is unclear, while if it is clear to me, all I get is a cookie? Are you superior to me?

Because I hold the consensus position on this question.

If it's clear to you, you can hire a bunch of junior engineers for your project and have them become greybeards for half the wage. Then you get more than a cookie.

Otherwise you only get a cookie, which is still more than being unclear (a whole cookie), so I don't know what injustice you see here.

More comments

We have already exited the "nothing happens" condition given present capabilities.

Eh.

If companies are still employing software engineers (and they all are) then I’d say we’re mostly in “nothing happens” territory. It might be a revolutionary technology, the greatest revolution since the internet or even the computer. But if people are still going to work then, how different are things, really?

If companies are still employing software engineers (and they all are) then I’d say we’re mostly in “nothing happens” territory.

It is too early to be confident. Many people in FAANG have no idea how to use AI effectively and many others refuse on principle. Massive layoffs (20%+) are unlikely due to reasons of political economy despite the staggering amount of deadwood at these companies. It will take a long time for these ships to turn, we are still in the early stages of diffusion.

But if people are still going to work then, how different are things, really?

People went to work before the industrial revolution and people went to work after. Perhaps your opinion is that "nothing happened" during the industrial revolution; let's say I disagree.

Many people in FAANG have no idea how to use AI effectively

I thought they were the best? Is this why my VSCode is eating half a macbook pro battery in 3 hours?

They definitely like to think so. Empirically they are the most money and status oriented at this point. Whether that translates into technical skill is unclear but it probably has some positive correlation.

I thought they were the best?

While some are good people, they are on average not sending their best.

There is no "M" in FAANG.

You are technically correct.

we are still in the early stages

I legitimately don’t care if AI ends the human race or not, I will simply just be so so thankful to whatever deity exists when I won’t have to hear this phrase anymore.

People went to work before the industrial revolution and people went to work after.

Both are valid perspectives.

Did the industrial revolution change everything? Of course it did. The world is entirely different now. Drop an average person back in the 1500s and they’d probably have no idea how to survive. But, on the other hand, did it really change everything? Perhaps not. People still work, get sick, and die, same as they always did. I guess if that changes then we’ll really be in new territory.

But, on the other hand, did it really change everything? Perhaps not. People still work, get sick, and die, same as they always did. I guess if that changes then we’ll really be in new territory.

Amazing that the invention of fire or even the advent of intelligent life on this planet (using "people" loosely) didn't 'change everything' by this definition. Tough crowd!

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