Think local

If you’re anything like me, you’re sick of hearing about so-called “AI”. We are not a fringe. The majority consensus amongst actual regular people is that this is being forced down our throats and stuffed into our eyes and ears. That’s why it pains me that I’m about to add more fecal matter onto the ever-growing pile of shit by writing yet another hot take related to large language models. If you stop reading now, I don’t blame you. In fact, I applaud you. Anyway… The last time I made the mistake of writing about large language models, I set out my stall thusly: Software is almost certainly the killer app for large language models. I think the artists, writers, and musicians will be okay, or at least as okay as they ever were. It turns out that humans like things made by other humans. And y’know what? If I had to choose which endeavour I’d rather see automated away—programming or art—it’s no competition. I stand by that. But it doesn’t mean that software development gets a free pass…