When code was written by an LLM, do you note that in the code? How specific is the citation -- do you note the date the code was generated". LLM capabilities can vary over time. Do you list the prompt? (I don't but typically ask the LLM to provide a docstring.)
Because there will be development platforms and tools built around AI-generated code. The LLMs will have integrated code execution and libraries/APIs that they are familiar with. If a programmer or user stays within this platform, which will be fairly general purpose, the AI can handle 98% of requests with no help writing code.
These types of platforms will completely normalize AI-written code. People won't think twice about using it or feel they need to make a note of it.
What you might see say five years out is kind of the opposite. For some code bases, if a human writes the code and it hasn't been checked by an AI, then they have to make a note in a comment with their name and why they are not using AI verification. But they will probably choose to have an AI verify the code just to avoid extra procedure.
I don’t document things as “I learned this from stackoverflow” either, LLMs are very similar.
Put another way, till IP-implications have been figured out, I assume all LLM-generated code is radioactive for FLOSS projects.
[edit to clarify]: so documenting that a commit you're pushing includes code generated with an LLM will make maintainers' lives dramatically simpler. Please, and thank you!
All the best,
-HG
When I read your code I want to do know what the function does and why it does it. LLM generation details would just distract from that.
Before LLMs, you would cobble a bunch of disjoint information via a search engine like Google. Now, LLMs do this for you, and it certainly helps me to get a lot quicker with using libraries or APIs I am not familiar with (e.g., PyGame, Flask, Django). However, you might find that code from the LLM might need some fixing (subtle bugs or redundancies) or a better use of resources.
The other issue is the LLM's dataset bias towards the most used technologies or concepts. So you might have a hard time with an LLM trying to make Clojure/Racket code or telling the LLM to specifically do the point-in-triangle test with the wedge product only.
Hence, there is still some leeway or reason to use your thing between the ears.
You might as well ask: Are you referencing Stack Overflow or the Microsoft Developer Reference (e.g., in your developer notes/comments)?
My answer: usually, yes.