Comment by guitarbill
11 hours ago
One counter-example is the Horizon IT scandal. Obviously, you didn't say this directly, but "only a few people died/were affected, somehow civilization continues to function" maybe isn't the best argument.
11 hours ago
One counter-example is the Horizon IT scandal. Obviously, you didn't say this directly, but "only a few people died/were affected, somehow civilization continues to function" maybe isn't the best argument.
Sure, that scandal was horrific. I don't think the root cause was amateurs with bad spreadsheets.
It was an institutional failure, and the software involved had hundreds of millions of pounds spent on it and was built by supposed professionals.
Sure, we can ignore that specific example, and that software has an effect on the world, and that people have been trained to expect software to be deterministic and accurate.
Or if you want compare vibe coding with any technology, like electricity. Sure, that one person got electrocuted or their house burned down. But it's just so useful, and "somehow civilization continues to function". I guess they should've known better.
I'm personally not comfortable hyping up the benefits whilst ignoring the risks, especially for lay people.
> we can ignore that specific example
We are not ignoring it. It is just not an example of a load bearing excel sheet.
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