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0 points578_Observer2mo ago0 comments

Precisely.

AI optimizes for "Accuracy" (minimizing error), but it cannot optimize for "Taste" because Taste is not a variable in its loss function.

As code becomes abundant and cheap, "Aesthetics" and "Gestalt" will become the only scarcity left. The Architect's job is not to build, but to choose what is beautiful.

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mmasu2mo ago

I use the house analogy a lot these days. A colleague vibe-coded an app and it does what it is supposed to, but the code really is an unmaintainable hodgepodge of files. I compare this to a house that looks functional on the surface, but has the toilet in the middle of the living room, an unsafe electrical system, water leaks, etc. I am afraid only the facade of the house will need to be beautiful, only to realize that they traded off glittery paint for shaky foundations.

578_ObserverOP2mo ago

I've been a loan officer for 20 years.

To extend your analogy: AI is effectively mass-producing 'Subprime Housing'. It has amazing curb appeal (glittering paint), but as a banker, I'd rate this as a 'Toxic Asset' with zero collateral value.

The scary part is that the 'interest rate' on this technical debt is variable. Eventually, it becomes cheaper to declare bankruptcy (rewrite from scratch) than to pay off the renovation costs.

ragequittah2mo ago

My experience with it is the code just wouldn't have existed in the first place otherwise. Nobody was going to pay thousands of dollars for it and it just needs to work and be accurate. It's not the backend code you give root access to on the company server, it's automating the boring aspects of the job with a basic frontend.

I've been able to save people money and time. If someone comes in later and has a more elegant solution for the same $60 effort I spent great! Otherwise I'll continue saving people money and time with my non-perfect code.

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