AI

 I need to talk about AI.

There's a lot of hype around AI at the moment. There's also a tremendous amount of hate for it too. Overhyped. Bullshit. Not intelligent. Crap.

Uh huh.

I've been noodling with tech for 40 years at this point. Coding the machines for 40 years. I am, professionally, at the tippety top of what I do. I have taught countless people. Architected, written, developed so many projects I have absolutely lost track of what I've done. So many apps. So many companies.

So that being said. I'd like to offer a bit of insight into AI, in particular AI when it comes to IT, code development, figuring shit out. Less at the idiot end user. More at the tech professional.

Let's start with this.

It is paradigm breaking.

It is the biggest leap forward in computing since ever. It is wildly powerful, amazingly capable and completely overhauls what it is to be a developer. It is close to eliminating devs entirely, but not quite - and I don't think will for quite some time if ever. It has the capability to access every single bit of documentation, test, API, the lot, and then condense it down into a no nonsense, no bullshit, no puffed egotistical romp through a thesaurus, simple bit of conceptual code.

It is, incredible.

And what's more. It's not just a parrot. You can talk to the bloody things. You can point out a mistake it makes. It apologises. And fixes it ! You can suggest a better pattern, it takes it onboard, and instantly refactors the design to fit the better pattern.

Overall its like working with a really really fucking good at computer stuff human. It is a delight.

Is it perfect ? No. Does it make mistakes ? Yes. Are human contemporaries perfect ? Ha ha. Do humans make mistakes ? Oh boy.

For my money it blows anyone below a senior dev out of the water, not even a debate. And even at a senior level... it's like having a senior that has worked on everything, no limit to the breadth of their experience.

And all this, and you can just chat with it.

For my purposes it has completely upended my relationship with the internet at large and information resources. Once upon a time if I wanted to look something up, access some new corner of functionality I would have to pore through API documentation, browse examples, wade through case studies of other people falling into pitfalls, and write some Proof of Concept stuff myself, before finally arriving at a polished product.

All of that has gone.

Now there is just the AI. Streamlining that whole bullshit noise filter into a very high quality signal output. It means for me, I can just get on and power through without listening to someone prattle on, or wade through 9 shitty miscomprehensions, before I finally find the 1 nugget of actual truth - or avoid the absolutely at times impenetrable official documentation that blurbs on for 100 pages, just to in the end, demonstrate a 5 line simple fucking concept.

For me, tech wise. Google - once my tool of choice for crunching difficult issues - is just about dead. In its place is the AI.

If nothing else - and its not just this - the AIs are like the most amazing upgrade to an internet search engine you've ever had. Cutting all the shit out. And returning you the thing you actually wanted. But they are more than that. That's just their starting point. 

Don't get me wrong. There are times when you leave the map entirely - particularly for what I do, at the level I do it. A certain trailblazing aspect to being first, or at least, no one else has documented doing it, cutting through the jungle to arrive at your destination. In such cases, the AI can't help. This is where you still have to roll up your sleeves, summon all your know-whats, lean on those decades of experience and speed of brain and create something New and Different that then sets the path for everyone else behind you ( including the AIs ). But. That kind of shit is not common. For many devs, it's something they will never get to do. And even with that chopping through the parts of the map that are labelled Here Be Dragons, the AI can help you get your ducks in a row, supplies sorted out, and in the best possible position to really crack on and push through the undergrowth. For me, being the tip of the spear has been part of my schtick for a long while. It is what makes me the guy other IT professionals turn to when they get stuck. You get to climb the mountain without any rope ahead of you. But you get to leave a trail of rope behind you for others to easily climb up. So. AIs cant help me with that trailblazing... yet.... but still. They are phenomenally useful.

Fab. ( I suspect the next big jump in AI usefulness will be when it has a capability to really extrapolate, and begin to forge new ground itself in a meaningful way )

I know that from where I sit I am in rarified air. Your average consumer punter can't access the AI like I can. Doesn't have a use case like I do. Can't see how incredibly smart and powerful they have become. And therefore. Perhaps views the whole thing with suspicion.

But honestly.

It's like being in the far future. I can have a conversation with the machine and problem solve with it, and work collaboratively to produce something in a quarter of the time. Amazing.

If they can keep on progressing. Truly awe inspiring.

In many ways, it's a bit like being an early adopter of the internet, when everyone else didn't have a clue and then viewed the net with suspicion and disdain. Until a few years rolled by and then everyone and their mom was using it.

AI, is bigger than that.

Of course. Whether it gets to be put to good use for the average punter is another question. For the tech heads though. Amazing. And I suspect. Those that spit on it, are prone to saying its all hype are going to be left farrrr behind.

I guess that's often the way with technology of any kind however. Embrace it. Or die.

Ay. Yo. You made a mistake.