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this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2026
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sigh
Use LLMs as instructional models not as production/development models. It's not hard, people. You don't need to connect credentials to any LLMs just like you'd never write your production passwords on post-it's and stick them on your computer monitor.
Or don't use LLMs at all, because they fucking lie to you constantly?
"Lie" implies they have some kind of agency. They're basically a Plinko board.
Meh, they work well enough if you treat them as a rubber duck that responds. I've had an actual rubber duck on my desk for some years, but I've found LLM's taking over its role lately.
I don't use them to actually generate code. I use them as a place where I can write down my thoughts. When the LLM responds, it has likely "misunderstood" some aspect of my idea, and by reformulating myself and explaining how it works I can help myself think through what I'm doing. Previously I would argue with the rubber duck, but I have to admit that the LLM is actually slightly better for the same purpose.
Hooray for outsourcing of critical thinking!
What could possibly go wrong
I think you've misunderstood the purpose of a rubber duck: The point is that by formulating your problems and ideas, either out loud or in writing, you can better activate your own problem solving skills. This is a very well established method for reflecting on and solving problems when you're stuck, it's a concept far older than chatbots, because the point isn't the response you get, but the process of formulating your own thoughts in the first place.
Right, but a rubber duck isn't a sycophantic chatbot that isn't capable of conceptualizing anything but responding to you anyway.