I've seen engineers vibe code entire applications that are pretty awesome. I have not seen non-engineers do that so well, but I'm sure some can

It is great at writing SQL & analyzing complex SQL to find/fix bugs. I assume it is equally good in other languages, I have no call to try it. It is good at summarizing a bunch of docs. I don't like it as a search engine replacement - too much hallucination. That's getting better, though

I'm somewhere in between, mostly because a large part of my job is figuring out what we should ask the computers to do and there's only so much the AI tools can do to help me with that (organize notes, summarize lots of research, etc) - I still need to think through the decisions

I have watched people who aren't good at talking to computers get themselves into time-wasting messes with the AI tools

But I have also watched people who are good at talking to computers make some amazing things in almost no time

I am skeptical about making computers able to handle incomplete and contradictory instructions the way a human assistant can. Maybe we'll get there, we're nowhere near there yet

That said, if you can give Claude or similar good instructions in natural language they do indeed speed up a lot of tasks

Better to focus on fundamentals in college (learn to think, learn to read closely, learn to write clearly) and then major in what is interesting - things change to fast to be able to pick what degree will be hot in 4 years!

I do think the people who went to CS expecting easy to get jobs are going to be disappointed. The job landscape is changing and will be challenging for awhile

But I've always thought picking a major based on what you think will produce an easy job was a short-sighted high risk way to go

This is also why I would not steer my kid away from a computer science degree if she wants one (she's currently planning a minor in CS).... it isn't like we're going to stop needing to know how to talk to computers anytime soon

I also think that being able to effectively work with the models is a skill, that people who are already used to talking to computers tend to pick up that skill easily and so we should be careful extrapolating from what is happening in software industry to other industries

I agree that there is some near term pain coming and would extend to include pain we don't predict now

I also agree it will likely not be as big a long term disruption as the super-boosters say

If we had a healthier political enviro that I thought could respond to problems, I'd be less worried

This thread overall aligns with what I'm thinking based on what I see happening in my little corner of the universe

Note that I am in a software-y part of the universe and I am seeing with my own eyes what the current models can do in that context and also how companies are reacting

Bumped into an old friend on Whenua Hou the day before yesterday, while I was working on the webcam. #kakapo #kakapo2026 #conservation #wildlife

Remember, Democrats have repeatedly advanced measures to ban partisan gerrymandering and Republicans have voted against them time after time.

This is the game Republicans wanted to play. OK, then.

Show us how its done, Hungary!

I really like IPAs, but admit I didn't when I first moved to San Diego. I started edging towards them with hoppy reds and eventually discovered I really like IPAs now. The beer I gave up on is lager. Just do not like it, stopped trying

this last point is what makes me sad - kids are so stressed out because they only applied to UCs and those are increasingly hard to get into. So they end up at their 4th choice school that is a so-so fit for them when they could have been at a private school that was a great fit for the same $

yeah the guidance counselors at my kids' school don't steer anyone to anything but the state schools. I ended up helping a bunch of my older daughter's friends pick some SLACs to apply to

yeah but I work in scientific software now and have done for many years

Nah, need only aid at her school, no merit

We're needier than a CEO or a high-powered lawyer, sure, but we're pretty damn comfortable. We're two senior software people! I was genuinely surprised when we got the aid letter.

I get that they can't do anything that implies a promise... but the lawyer speak they're using now is just not working and it is too bad! Parents won't let their kids apply anywhere but in-state due to money worries and end up with disappointed kids. Makes me sad to see

see that makes sense! Tell people! I did an aid calculator from the college my daughter is now at, and it said we'd get $0. We are getting half of her tuition paid with aid. Pretty big difference and probably scares some families off! We had 529s and the income to pay full if needed, so went ahead

And their parents are way more whiny about how hard it is to get into UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD than they should be!

Yes this - and they'll even waive the fee for some! I tell all the families I can that they should apply more widely.

That said, the families I'm talking about are all quite financially privileged and their kids will be FINE, they're just way more stressed about colleges than they need to be

I went in expecting to be subsidizing the less wealthy kids way more than I am, actually!

I was a scholarship kid, so 100% believe I should be subsidizing other kids. But I am not sure I am. My peers believe private colleges will be more expensive for them than they are and so don't even apply

what I mean is: the SLAC my daughter is going to is costing us basically what it would have cost us to send her to a UC. And that's at a school that says it only does need-based aid. I was expecting to pay full cost and I am not!

So to me, less coy = tell well off families they'll probably get aid

If I had one wish from private colleges it would be to be less coy about this! So many parents tell me "I could never afford to send my kid to a private college" & in reality we are paying the same amount for our kids to go to school. And my kid gets to stay in the dorms all 4 years if she wants!

Sorry for the rant, but it is college acceptance season again and I am going a little bonkers listening to me fellow parents whine about how their kid didn't get into Berkeley or UCLA. DUDE ALMOST NO ONE DOES IT IS OK THE OTHER SCHOOLS ARE GOOD TOO

When I say this, I hear "private colleges are too expensive," but my experience (last year) was that they all offered aid that made them cost equiv w/a UC. Including places that only do need-based awards!

And we absolutely do not qualify for anyone's usual definition of "needs financial assistance"

But when I talk to my peer parents about where their kids are applying, it is always just UCs! And maybe Cal Poly SLO and San Diego State. There are so many more great options out there! Their kid can go somewhere great, they just need to expand their thinking about it.