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jschauma@mstdn.social ("Jan Schaumann") wrote:

Advanced Programming in the #UNIX Environment

The objective of this class is to learn and understand the interfaces, libraries and concepts we cover as well as to actually write code. This requires struggling with code, to work your way through your problems rather than copy together AI generated snippets and pasting errors into a prompt.

Below are my updated slides on the use of AI in this class, and this is our policy:

https://stevens.netmeister.org/631/use-of-ai.html

Screenshot of lecture slides "Use of AI": LLMs are inherently problematic: Based on unapologetic exploitation of Intellectual Property Reinforcement of biases and power structures in the training set (GIGO) Concentration of power in the hands of a small number of US companies Convergence on Meh Reckless practices by AI companies, including attacks on other companies and generation of CSAM Your use of AI helps AI companies make better autonomous killing machines Massive environmental impact and exacerbation of global warming
Screenshot of lecture slide "Ethics aside..." AI can be useful when writing code, but the code is generates requires scrutiny. Being able to identify problem with somebody else’s code requires you to be able to fully understand the code, the problem space, the constraints, the edge conditions. LLMs generate plausible looking code, but reviewing and debugging code that intuitively looks correct requires double the effort and experience — i.e., not a task for junior developers. In order to supervise AI, you need to fully understand the problem you’re trying to use AI to solve.
Screenshot of lecture slied "Don't be a Meat Proxy" Meat proxy A person who forwards AI-generated text, code, or other output without reading, understanding, or validating it. The person acts only as a relay between the AI system and the intended recipient. If all you do is paste problem statements into the LLM and copy/paste the response… then why do we need you? Being a meat proxy is not a skill; it’s the choice of reducing your value and offer yourself up as tribute.
Screenshot of lecture slide "Use of AI" Telling AI to write (code) is not the same as learning to write (code). You can only get better at writing (code) by actually writing (code), kind of badly at first, struggling with it, and figuring out what works. Using AI to complete your coding assignments is like asking somebody else to go to the gym for you. You’re here to learn, to exercise, to build muscle. The use of AI in this class is strictly prohibited. This includes writing emails, READMEs, or other text. https://stevens.netmeister.org/631/use-of-ai.html