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riskabletoday at 3:06 PM1 replyview on HN

It's because they view the LLM's output as "their thoughts." They told the LLM (via the prompt) what to do—often with loads of run-on sentences and long trains-of-thought. From their perspective, the LLM is just acting as a translation tool, saving them the trouble of having to think (about grammar, ideal wording, or even the order in which their thoughts should be presented).

They treat it as "just another tool" to improve efficiency. Like using a drill instead of a screwdriver.

Then there's people who are so lazy they give LLMs instructions like, "write a LinkedIn post about how AI is changing the future of work for thumbnail consultants." That's when it moves from "translating your thoughts" to "writing for you."

I think the issue is that it can be hard to tell the difference. We need better terms for these things so we can differentiate use cases.


Replies

Sharlintoday at 3:13 PM

Yes. If someone tells an author to write a novel based on a vague stream-of-consciousness premise or rough plot idea, that doesn’t make them even a co-author.