'AI', etc.

Hello, loves! I propose to blather a bit this morning, starting with some ‘AI’-related ideas and then going I know not where. Triggers Jessica Kerr—jessitron—recently published an article that caught my attention: Who are we Now. Jessica is unquestionably a better programmer than I am, thinks very deeply about important matters, and has been digging deeply into the use of current ‘AI’ agents. You should read that article, before you read this and perhaps instead. Here is a quote that I want to call out: Do I think AI is bad for us? Sure. Does that mean I shouldn’t use it? No. Another of my betters, Kent Beck, has also been working with the ‘AI’ systems and in a recent article closed with something that struck me: The overall outcome for me is (finally) positive: Less useless code More confidence in the behavior of what remains Kent has coined the term “genie” in referring to whatever ‘AI’ thing he’s using. I am not comfortable with that. If one has read enough about genies, it might…