alt Hacker NewsA more accurate metaphor comparing the gym to LLMs IMO is using cable machines in place of old-school barbell and dumbbell work.
You can --- and people have --- built strength-focused programming around cable machines. "They're safer and work target muscle groups more efficiently" is usually the argument. A Life Fitness Synergy system is also much more practical to own inside of one's house than a power rack and 1000+ lb of plates that will make quick work of most home flooring.
This strategy works. It's sure as shit better than doing nothing. But quadriceps, delts and lats don't work in isolation. They rely on secondary and tertiary muscles and entire kinetic chains to help them accomplish tasks.
Cables do hit muscle groups directly, but they also lead to diminishing strength and physique returns much more quickly than boring traditional weight training. They also lead to problematic muscle imbalances that, ironically, can cause overuse injuries later in life (super heavy leg extensions with improper knee flexion comes to mind).
Just because LLMs are a technological innovation for "going to the gym" does not make cable machines a good metaphor. Maybe cable machines with cables made of highly variable grade hemp are comparable to LLMs-- they'll break randomly, and cause unexpected friction here and there. A cable machine still involves a human doing a thing. A forklift at the gym does the work instead.
All this fluff about targeting specific muscles etc is simply not analogous to LLMS. Maybe old-school barbells are paper files and fax machines, and cable machines are Slack, Asana, and Excel?