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

[Ivan Sergio Borgonovo]

Of course his web site is a good starting https://craphound.com/

I don't know if everything he writes end up here too but eg. this did

https://craphound.com/news/2025/03/30/why-i-dont-like-ai-art/
and this is an example of where our opinion differs

or here

https://locusmag.com/feature/commentary-cory-doctorow-reverse-centaurs/

https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2025-09-18-automating-gang-stalking-delusion-paranoid-androids-0ada49085165

https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2025-09-11-vulgar-thatcherism-there-is-an-alternative-f1428b42a8fd

...

On 10/1/25 4:25 PM, Steve Litt wrote:
> Thanks Ivan!
> 
> Could you please give us one or more URLs as examples of Cory
> Doctorow's writing on AI? Thanks!
> 
> Steve
> 
> Ivan Sergio Borgonovo said on Wed, 1 Oct 2025 11:18:15 +0200
> 
>> 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