Having software build software is programming. An agent is software, a human isn't. I can draw a UML diagram, software generates code from that, and software turns it into binary. That still counts as programming I would say, we're just changing the language. Otherwise you would have to say that writing JavaScript is not programming because it's too far removed from Assembly.
It really is the determinism aspect for me. Okay, it’s programming if you sample at temperature 0 with a fixed seed on a fully deterministic inference stack and you have made your prompts the artifact that you iterate on (repo full of natural language that “builds” into the running software it describes with the use of the LLM sampling at temperature 0)
Why is everyone so hang on determinism? Monte Carlo methods are nondeterministic but still programming. We use random generators in many programs.
That's not really what we're talking about though. Compiling verilog from simulink or whatever is totally different than an agent writing code.
If you design a custom piece of furniture, then hire someone to build it, that's totally fine! But if you then tell everyone "I constructed this cool table," well, that's just not true.
Having animals eat animals is food. An animal is food, a human isn't. I can draw up some hay, animals eat it, and another animal eats it. That still counts as food I would say, we're just changing the organism. Otherwise you would have to say that dogs aren't animals because it's too far removed from plants.
> That still counts as programming I would say, we're just changing the language.
Anything can be anything it isn't once you start changing the language.
"When at first you don't succeed, redefine success."
> Having software build software is programming. An agent is software, a human isn't. I can draw a UML diagram, software generates code from that, and software turns it into binary.
It's not programming, it's cuckoldry. Articulating the perfect guy, inviting him over and watching him get to do all the stuff you used to enjoy literally makes you a manager.