Code as an Artifact
This article explores how agentic LLMs are shifting the definition of 'code' from a final product to a specification that can be generated on demand. It argues that while programming languages may evolve, they remain essential for reducing the ambiguity inherent in natural language specifications.
Why it matters
Understanding this shift is critical for software engineers and businesses as they determine how to integrate AI into the software development lifecycle.
Agentic LLM's have changed what "code" means. It used be the end product of the software engineering lifecycle is "code" 📜 and there are purported arguments claiming that it is no more as LLM's themselves write "code". What remains is the spec as the "code" can be regenerated in N number of ways on demand. 🔨
Does that mean "code" is irrelevant and as long as you have a golden spec to derive "machine instructions"? As mused over by Elon Musk
This is exactly right. Source code is on the verge of becoming like assembly. The next step is getting rid of “source code” entirely and just making an efficient binary directly with AI. https://t.co/g004yjMF95
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in