Coding with LLMs in the summer of 2025 (an update)
9 months ago
- #LLM Collaboration
- #AI Programming
- #Software Development
- Frontier LLMs like Gemini 2.5 PRO enhance programmer capabilities by understanding vast topics and code quickly.
- Key benefits include bug elimination before deployment, faster idea exploration, and pair-design activities with LLMs.
- LLMs can accelerate work by writing code under clear specifications and aiding in unfamiliar technologies.
- Human+LLM collaboration is more productive than humans alone, requiring strong communication skills.
- Providing extensive context to LLMs, including bad/good solutions and clear goals, improves code quality.
- Best LLMs for coding are Gemini 2.5 PRO and Claude Opus, with Gemini being more semantically powerful.
- Avoid agents or integrated coding tools; use frontier LLMs directly and maintain control over the process.
- Current best practice is to stay in the loop with LLMs, retaining control for high-quality, minimal, and well-understood code.
- Future advancements may shift more coding tasks to AI alone, but human oversight remains crucial for now.