"AI first" and the Bus Factor of 0
4 days ago
- #Bus Factor
- #vibe coding
- #AI first
- The 'Bus Factor' measures the risk of losing knowledge if team members are unavailable, with a worst-case scenario of 1 (sole knowledge holder).
- Historically, humanity has worked to avoid a Bus Factor of 1 through documentation, education, and knowledge-sharing mechanisms.
- The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a shift towards 'AI first,' where humans no longer retain knowledge, leading to a Bus Factor of zero.
- In programming, many now rely on LLMs to generate code, avoiding understanding or preserving knowledge about their projects ('vibe coding').
- Vibe coding creates a Bus Factor of zero, making it difficult to debug, update, or secure software that no one understands.
- Users may unknowingly trust software built via vibe coding, risking exposure of sensitive data due to lack of oversight.
- Vibe coding is flawed unless AI can generate 100% accurate code and prompts, highlighting the need for human oversight in knowledge retention.