←back to thread

AI models need a virtual machine

(blog.sigplan.org)
224 points azhenley | 3 comments | 30 Aug 25 13:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.425s | source
Show context
mehulashah ◴[30 Aug 25 14:30 UTC] No.45074995[source]▶
I do believe it’s time for systems folks to take a hard look at building systems abstractions on top of LLMs as they did 50 years ago on top of CPUs. LLMs are the new universal computing machines, but we build with them like we built computers in the 1950s - one computer at a time.
replies(6): >>45075043 #>>45075096 #>>45075104 #>>45075134 #>>45075169 #>>45075192 #
csmpltn ◴[30 Aug 25 14:37 UTC] No.45075043[source]▶
This is the wrong take.

There's a point beyond which LLMs are an overkill, where a simple script or a "classic" program can outdo the LLM across speed, accuracy, scalability, price and more. LLMs aren't supposed to solve "universal computing". They are another tool in the toolbox, and it's all about using the right tool for the problem.

replies(1): >>45075057 #
mehulashah ◴[30 Aug 25 14:40 UTC] No.45075057[source]▶
I shared your opinion for a while. But, that’s not what’s happening. People are using them for everything. When they do, expectations are set. Vendors will adjust and so will the rest of the industry. It’s happening.
replies(5): >>45075136 #>>45075186 #>>45075244 #>>45075250 #>>45075366 #
1. kibwen ◴[30 Aug 25 15:01 UTC] No.45075244[source]▶
At the risk of being blunt, this comment reads like someone in the throes of religious euphoria. It makes no sense to call LLMs "the new universal computing machines". Please take a step back and reevaluate the media bubbles you're pickling your brain in.
replies(2): >>45077023 #>>45078030 #
2. mehulashah ◴[30 Aug 25 18:46 UTC] No.45077023[source]▶
Trust me. I’m usually the last to jump on a bandwagon. That said, this is not just my take, but the take of many others that I trust. Andrej Karpathy, Joseph Hellerstein, etc.
3. IX-103 ◴[30 Aug 25 21:09 UTC] No.45078030[source]▶
There was a time when everybody did arithmetic by hand and "calculator" was a profession. There was a time when spreadsheets were made with ink and paper. There was a time when all programs were written in assembly.

Now, most arithmetic is done by computers, spreadsheets are done by computers, and almost all assembly language is written by computers. People have moved on to higher level programming languages for communicating ideas to computers. Would it really be that surprising to learn that in the future people use natural language to speak with computers?

The company I work for went through a big AI push about a month ago. Before then, almost no code was written by AI. Now, it's the majority of code. I'm not saying that AI coders will be able to replace people, because the AI honestly is just not as capable - if it were interviewing for my company, I would not hire it. But the thing is that I can go from design doc to prototype using less than a day and $10 of tokens. Sure I have to make corrections and rewrite some of the more fiddly bits, but it saves me a ton of typing.

And LLMs are not limited to programming. Any computer-based task that you would allow an unpaid intern to complete for you would be a reasonable fit for AI.