It’s like saying a hammer can build a house. No, it can’t.
It’s useful to pound in nails and automate a lot of repetitive and boring tasks but it’s not going to build the house for you - architect it, plan it, validate it.
It’s similar to the whole 3D printing hype.
You can 3D print a house! No you can’t.
You can 3D print a wall, maybe a window.
Then have a skilled Craftsman put it all together for you, ensure fit and finish and essentially build the final product.
You’re making a great analogy with the 3D printing of a house.
However, if we consider the 3D printed house scenario; that skilled craftsman is now able to do things on his own that he would have needed a team for in the past. Most, if not all, of the less skilled members of that team are not getting any experience within the craft at that point. They’re no longer necessary when one skilled person can now do things on their own.
What happens when the skilled and highly experienced craftsmen that use AI as a supplemental tool (and subsequently earn all the work) eventually retire, and there’s been no juniors or mid-levels for a while? No one is really going to be qualified without having had exposure to the trade for several years.
Absolutely. This is a huge problem and I’ve read about this very problem from a number of sources. This will have a huge impact on engineering and information work.
Interestingly enough, A similar shortage occurred in the trades when information work was up and coming and the trades were shunned as a career path for many. Now we don’t have enough plumbers and electricians. Trades are now finding their the skills in high demand and charging very high rates.
The trades problem is a typical small business problem with toxic work environments. I knew plenty that washed out of the trades because of that. The “nobody wants to work anymore” tradesmen but really it’s “nobody wants to work with me for what I’m willing to pay”
I don’t doubt that that’s a problem either in some of those small businesses.
I have a great electrician that I call all the time. He’s probably in his late 60s. It’s definitely more of a rough and tumble work environment than IT work, for sure, but he’s a good guy and he pays his people well and he charges me an arm and a leg.
But we talk about it and he tells me about how the same work he would have charged a quarter the price just 10 years ago. And honestly, he’s one of the more affordable ones.
So it definitely seems like the trades is the place to be these days with so few good ones around. But yeah you have to pick and choose who’s mentoring you.
You can certainly 3D print a building, but can you really 3D print a house? Can it 3d print doors and windows that can open and close and be locked? Can it 3D print the plumbing and wiring and have it be safe and functional? Can it 3D print the foundation? What about bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinets, and things like carpet?
It’s actually not a bad metaphor. You can use a 3D printer to help with building a house, and to 3D print some of fixtures and bits and pieces that go into the house. Using a 3D printer would automate a fair amount of the manual labor that goes into building a house today (at least how it is done in the US). But you’re still going to need people who know what they are doing put it all together to transform the building to a functional home. We’re still a fair ways away from just being able to 3D print a house, just like we’re fair ways away from having a LLM write a large, complex piece of software.
No they aren’t. With enough setup and very unique and expensive equipment, you can pour shitty concrete walls that will be way more expensive and worse than if you did it normally. That will give you 20% of the house, at best. 20% of not very good of a house.
The LLM worship has to stop.
It’s like saying a hammer can build a house. No, it can’t.
It’s useful to pound in nails and automate a lot of repetitive and boring tasks but it’s not going to build the house for you - architect it, plan it, validate it.
It’s similar to the whole 3D printing hype. You can 3D print a house! No you can’t.
You can 3D print a wall, maybe a window.
Then have a skilled Craftsman put it all together for you, ensure fit and finish and essentially build the final product.
You’re making a great analogy with the 3D printing of a house.
However, if we consider the 3D printed house scenario; that skilled craftsman is now able to do things on his own that he would have needed a team for in the past. Most, if not all, of the less skilled members of that team are not getting any experience within the craft at that point. They’re no longer necessary when one skilled person can now do things on their own.
What happens when the skilled and highly experienced craftsmen that use AI as a supplemental tool (and subsequently earn all the work) eventually retire, and there’s been no juniors or mid-levels for a while? No one is really going to be qualified without having had exposure to the trade for several years.
Absolutely. This is a huge problem and I’ve read about this very problem from a number of sources. This will have a huge impact on engineering and information work.
Interestingly enough, A similar shortage occurred in the trades when information work was up and coming and the trades were shunned as a career path for many. Now we don’t have enough plumbers and electricians. Trades are now finding their the skills in high demand and charging very high rates.
The trades problem is a typical small business problem with toxic work environments. I knew plenty that washed out of the trades because of that. The “nobody wants to work anymore” tradesmen but really it’s “nobody wants to work with me for what I’m willing to pay”
I don’t doubt that that’s a problem either in some of those small businesses.
I have a great electrician that I call all the time. He’s probably in his late 60s. It’s definitely more of a rough and tumble work environment than IT work, for sure, but he’s a good guy and he pays his people well and he charges me an arm and a leg.
But we talk about it and he tells me about how the same work he would have charged a quarter the price just 10 years ago. And honestly, he’s one of the more affordable ones.
So it definitely seems like the trades is the place to be these days with so few good ones around. But yeah you have to pick and choose who’s mentoring you.
3d printed concrete houses exist. Why can’t you 3d print a house? Not the best metaphor lol
You can certainly 3D print a building, but can you really 3D print a house? Can it 3d print doors and windows that can open and close and be locked? Can it 3D print the plumbing and wiring and have it be safe and functional? Can it 3D print the foundation? What about bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinets, and things like carpet?
It’s actually not a bad metaphor. You can use a 3D printer to help with building a house, and to 3D print some of fixtures and bits and pieces that go into the house. Using a 3D printer would automate a fair amount of the manual labor that goes into building a house today (at least how it is done in the US). But you’re still going to need people who know what they are doing put it all together to transform the building to a functional home. We’re still a fair ways away from just being able to 3D print a house, just like we’re fair ways away from having a LLM write a large, complex piece of software.
Exactly this.
You don’t like glass windows? Air conditioning? A door?
No they aren’t. With enough setup and very unique and expensive equipment, you can pour shitty concrete walls that will be way more expensive and worse than if you did it normally. That will give you 20% of the house, at best. 20% of not very good of a house.