[conspire] Discussion: Using LLMs the Right Way: 10/1/2025 7pm Eastern Daylight time

[Ivan Sergio Borgonovo]

Cory Doctorow is writing a lot of good stuff on AI I mostly agree with.
He has a more "artistic" POV, despite him being a nerd too, while I have 
a more tech POV so sometimes he despise the use of generative AI where I 
would just say "why not?".

I think he is making a great point that has actual technical 
implications when he talk about centaurs and reverse-centaurs.

That should be the starting point to any successful use of AI.

On 10/1/25 3:15 AM, Steve Litt wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> Where: GoLUG Online: https://meet.jit.si/golug
> When: Wednesday, 10/1/2025 7pm sharp Eastern Daylight time
>        Arrive 15 minutes early for Microphone check & discussion
> Who: Steve Litt, Troubleshooter, Developer, Tech Writer
> What: Discussion: Using LLMs the Right Way
> 
> As a regular inhabitant of LinkedIn, I see an ever increasing bunch of
> BS concerning topics AI and Vibe Coding (the ultimate undefined phrase).
> 
> There are those people scared to death that their developer jobs will
> be completely taken over by Large Language Models (LLMs), and out of
> panic and fear they trot out the old tropes about "vibe coders" having
> ChatGPT or Claude spit out a 5K line application and deploy it live, so
> that an army of $200/hr consultants can come in and fix the mess.
> 
> Then there are the self-proclaimed "realists" proclaiming that human
> developers are obsolete, you'd better accept it, software writes
> software that writes software that writes software, and it's better
> code than anything written by a human, So become a business
> executive. Perhaps this will be true someday, but it's nowhere near
> true today.
> 
> Just today I saw a LinkedIn post blaming "AI" for permanent brainwave
> alterations and inattentiveness. Well yeah, if you do any activity
> wrong: Listening to music, watching TV, programming, writing books,
> weightlifting, taking vitamins or making money, it can change your
> brain, and often not for the better.
> 
> You just gotta love these guys who spend valuable brainpower worrying
> themselves to death that job applicants are using AI to answer the
> interview questions. If the applicant comes up with the right answer in
> such a time and emotional crunch, why do they care if the applicant used
> a tool to do it? Unless it's a matter of the interviewer not knowing
> whether the answer is correct, in which case maybe it's the interviewer
> who shouldn't have a job. Anyway, if the applicant can quickly come
> up with correct answers using his AI tools, imagine how productive
> he'll be on the job. Work isn't a closed-book activity :-)
> 
> Here's the truth: LLMs are a tool. A very powerful tool, but just a
> tool. They do a big portion of the job very fast, but they don't do the
> whole job. As of 2025 you still need human troubleshooters, you need
> people who understand how to write readable and modular code so it's
> maintainable even when the LLM can't do the job, you need somebody to
> interview and specify. Imagine the ruckus laborers must have made when
> backhoes were invented. A backhoe and its operator could out produce
> ten strong and skilled ditch diggers. But if you look around, at every
> jobsite using a backhoe you'll see one or two guys with shovels to get
> the last few inches dug around pipes, etc. The project still had an
> architect and an engineer. A backhoe can't do the whole job, and
> neither can an LLM. Very few people on LinkedIn stop to think about
> this. LLMs lead neither to heaven nor hell. They're a tool. A very
> powerful tool, but just a tool.
> 
> And by the way, LLMs are hugely helpful in learning new things, and
> I've found that interacting with them also helps me discuss things with
> humans.
> 
> At the discussion I'll briefly reveal how I use LLMs to help me develop
> software, learn new things, and turn them into a high quality,
> lightning fast lookup software or service manual. Then others will
> reveal their tricks, tips, and policies of using LLMs. We should all
> come away with a better understanding of how to use LLMs as a tool.
> 
> Hope to see you there.
> 
> SteveT
> 
> Steve Litt
> GoLUG Publicity Coordinator
> 
> 
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-- 
Ivan Sergio Borgonovo
https://www.webthatworks.it https://www.borgonovo.net