logoalt Hacker News

sodapopcanyesterday at 3:53 PM3 repliesview on HN

Ya, there are already three pure ad hominem comments here with no examples. Zitron isn't even anti-AI per se. He clearly talks out his ass at times (like AI doesn't work for developers... which he's not saying so much anymore, I don't think) but his main talking points are around numbers and profitability.


Replies

dan_geeyesterday at 3:57 PM

As a C++ developer, AI does not work well for software development in my experience. Maybe LLM developer tools work better if you write React or HTML/CSS, but they have been inadequate for my use case since their arrival.

show 2 replies
tptacekyesterday at 4:59 PM

I'd be interested in the schematics of where you think the "ad hominems" are in my comment.

show 1 reply
skippyfishyesterday at 4:30 PM

> Ya, there are already three pure ad hominem comments here with no examples.

You should probably understand Thomas' comment in part as a reaction to Zitron attacking Thomas in a pretty low-brow fashion, essentially for saying "hey folks, AI coding works and you should be using it":

https://www.wheresyoured.at/how-to-argue-with-an-ai-booster/

The bottom line is that Ed Zitron, like Gary Marcus, built their entire brand on being AI contrarians; they can't say anything positive about it without qualifying it with a more damning negative. There's nothing wrong about having voices like that, but it makes them unreliable narrators. I am apprehensive about AI and its externalities, but I don't want to be caught citing either of them for that reason.

show 3 replies