• grue@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    ELI5 why the AI companies can’t just clone the git repos and do all the slicing and dicing (running git blame etc.) locally instead of running expensive queries on the projects’ servers?

    • green@feddit.nl
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      15 days ago

      Too many people overestimate the actual capabilities of these companies.

      I really do not like saying this because it lacks a lot of nuance, but 90% of programmers are not skilled in their profession. This is not to say they are stupid (though they likely are, see cat-v/harmful) but they do not care about efficiency nor gracefulness - as long as the job gets done.

      You assume they are using source control (which is unironically unlikely), you assume they know that they can run a server locally (which I pray they do), and you assume their deadlines allow them to think about actual solutions to problems (which they probably don’t)

      Yes, they get paid a lot of money. But this does not say much about skill in an age of apathy and lawlessness