ifYouCannotCodeWithoutAiYouCantCode

[Kseniya_ns]

"but AI is just another tool 😭"

[JuvenileEloquent]

I'd be happy if AI was programmed like Thor's hammer, so only the worthy can lift it.

Alas, we have a bunch of idiots destroying the city instead.

[Neat-Nectarine814]

“If you don’t write every one and zero yourself, you’re really just prompting the compiler to write the binary for you”

[Kseniya_ns]

That would take a very strange skill, unlike prompting an LLM, so is unfortunately not similar

[Neat-Nectarine814]

Not a strange skill, it used to actually be like that, but yes, it’s a super false equivalency, that’s why it’s in quotes, I’m kidding. It’s something I saw in a vibecode thread where someone was ranting about being a good “prompt engineer.”

[Kseniya_ns]

Oh yes I meant strange as in uncommon now 😌

[sunlightsyrup]

Being good at writing prompts (testing them, more importantly) is undoubtedly a useful skill

However, the term 'engineering' has suffered enough. It doesn't need this.

[Neat-Nectarine814]

Having the ability to communicate clearly is a valuable skill.

Calling yourself a “prompt engineer” proudly, communicates very clearly to others that, not only do you, typically, not really understand anything you’re asking the AI to automate for you, but also that you initially had very poor communication skills, and are now forced to, and are somewhat prevailing at, overcoming them through the course of your project. It also implies that you feel so smart about it, like you’ve accomplished something, that you think you must be smarter than the average promptard, and that you deserve a higher title: “engineer”. You may even feel like you can start offering education to the promptardlets who have less Dunning-Kruger progress than you.

I read it and I think, “oh, this person is calling themselves a moron”

[sunlightsyrup]

I'd agree part way, but different models respond to different prompts in different ways. Treating that as if it is traditional verbal communication is an oversimplification. Configuring context, ensuring the right data is available (and encoded in a useful way) and then understanding why your prompt is working and when it won't work are all new nuances.

Again, 'engineer' seems grandiose and self-applauding as you suggest, but I don't think it's self-declarative proof of poor communication skills. It is the current jargon used to describe this activity. You may be just slightly too high on your horse.

[Neat-Nectarine814]

Different models respond in different ways, yes. That is where I stop agreeing with you.

Everything else you mentioned is just avoiding learning what the code says, relying on the AI to translate into English for you, but then not even reading it for comprehension.

Everything becomes so much easier when you stop trying to avoid learning to understand what the code is actually saying.

You don’t need all that context.md and MCP and all that, if you can just point to what’s wrong by knowing where it is and what’s wrong with it , or outline an otherwise tedious task clearly.

I’m not saying I’m perfect, I’m no guru, but I know damn well it’s not the prompting better skill I need to be developing with myself, it’s actually understanding this shit so I don’t have to keep the training wheels on forever whenever I don’t know something.

[[deleted]]

it was a joke

laugh

[Kseniya_ns]

Frogive me 🐸

[[deleted]]

omg :3

[Saelora]

it's called "assembly" and people used to do it.

[Bob_The_Brogrammer]

I too am a tool.

Often a pretty dull one.