Greg Knauss:
People will argue that speaking English to LLMs is just another
level of abstraction away from the physics of how the machine
actually works. And while that’s technically true — the worst
kind of true — it also misses the point. Industrialization
fundamentally changes things, by quantum degrees. A Ding Dong from
a factory is not the same thing as a gâteau au chocolat et crème
chantilly from a baker which is not the same thing as cramming
chunks of chocolate and scoops of whipped cream directly into your
mouth while standing in front of the fridge at 2:00am. The level
of care, of personalization, of intimacy — both given and taken — changes its nature. Digging a trench is a very different thing
than telling someone to dig a trench. Assembling a clock is a very
different thing than asking Siri for the time.
Splendid little essay.
