jam1garner

@earthtoneone@mstdn.social well... Vegas *is* the perfect place to end up if you like putting tokens into the text generation slot machine!

@claus@fosstodon.org yeah unfortunately I work in doing research in a niche of a niche. I've had issues with my situation in the past where I considered leaving in the past but have successfully pushed for solutions. I considered a lot of other jobs but ultimately I would in all likelihood go from doing specialized security research to embedded development if I jumped ship, which is sorta a full career change. Which isn't to say I can't do it and be happy, but it's different than if I was switching between development roles The good news is there are plenty of options to try and improve things where I'm at before it hits that point. I'm not trying to throw the baby out with the bathwater preemptively just because some people believe this will completely replace doing the work

@tshirtman@mas.to (I'm implicitly assuming you're not implying I should use a free model running on CPU with limited RAM at work, as that would be my only free option outside of work atm. Maybe you are suggesting that but I don't think it has any chance for the task at hand. Regardless, all a hypothetical given I don't think any model makes me enjoy doing things in my free time more than I do without)

@tshirtman@mas.to to clarify (should've made this explicit in the post) I'm being pushed more in the autonomous agent direction. Can't speak too much to specifics but it's much closer to "just let it build" than as a super charged stack overflow replacement. As for open weights I appreciate the suggestion, but I think part of my point specifically centers around not using paid options at work and free options at home—it matters a bit less with LLMs since there aren't UIs and keybinds and workflows to relearn but it still is different. Regardless even if the model weights are openly available the hardware to run them on isn't :)

@adrianco@mastodon.social @cford@toot.thoughtworks.com I don't disagree with this distinction I think it's real and important, although it has frustrated me in conversation when people assume I am also destination focused. I find a lot of joy in taking pride in my work and all the little details but don't think everyone needs to feel the same way about that (I have nothing against people wanting LLMs to be a magic button that teleports you to the destination, I understand the appeal even if it isn't for me). I think my issues mostly come when that difference of perspective isn't respected and actions are taken that prevent me from being able to treat it as a craft and not a means to an end

@poleguy@mastodon.social I think unfortunately in this case the ask is less to use it for direct assistance and more as a black box to task autonomously

As it finally approaches the point where the possibility of being forced to use LLMs at work looms over me, I keep having this thought:

Skill building is a secondary form of payment for labor. It doesn't put food on the table but it is a source of value you take as a part of your agreement to perform labor, either for personal benefit outside work or in future jobs. One of the reasons I largely avoid utilizing software with expensive licenses at work (even when it would make me more productive and be a rounding error in the budget) is because when I go home at the end of the day I have now lost access to some of the skill I have built with a tool, and have thus traded personal value for that of my employer.

With LLMs a similar issue arises. Let's start with the assumption they are more productive (for some combination of tasks and measurements this will be true) and ignore most of the negative externalities. If I'm forced to use them, I am not building the same skills as doing the work myself, and am having a form of payment I previously was guaranteed as a part of my employment stripped from me in exchange for the benefit of my employer. Why would I agree to this? If I was told I was receiving a pay decrease of any other form why would I find that acceptable?

Maybe you could argue that I'm still building skills, just different high level ones like agent orchestration or ""prompt engineering"" or whatever. But also like...that isn't what my job is? It's not in my job description? It's not something I find fun and it's not something I want to do? It's not a skill I can freely use on my own time, and it's certainly not one I want to spend my personal time doing. And if I had my way (I don't think I will) it wouldn't be a skill I'd be taking to my next job.

So why am I being told I need to be paid less to do a job I don't want to do, that isn't in my employment contract, and is less enjoyable and fulfilling to me?

@ekuber this is definitely one thing that annoys me about having conversations with people about LLMs, the unspoken disagreement about the artistry and craftsmanship of programming. Mass produced cheap plastic bowls and beautiful hand thrown ceramics aren't the same thing, so why are you trying to convince me to become a factory owner? Yet acknowledging this divergence of opinion implied by the premise feels like a weird moralizing non-sequitur just to express that I enjoy what I do and take pride in it