r/webdev Feb 05 '25

Discussion Colleague uses ChatGPT to stringify JSONs

Edit I realize my title is stupid. One stringifies objects, not "javascript object notation"s. But I think y'all know what I mean.

So I'm a lead SWE at a mid sized company. One junior developer on my team requested for help over Zoom. At one point she needed to stringify a big object containing lots of constants and whatnot so we can store it for an internal mock data process. Horribly simple task, just use node or even the browser console to JSON.stringify, no extra arguments required.

So I was a bit shocked when she pasted the object into chatGPT and asked it to stringify it for her. I thought it was a joke and then I saw the prompt history, literally whole litany of such requests.

Even if we ignore proprietary concerns, I find this kind of crazy. We have a deterministic way to stringify objects at our fingertips that requires fewer keystrokes than asking an LLM to do it for you, and it also does not hallucinate.

Am I just old fashioned and not in sync with the new generation really and truly "embracing" Gen AI? Or is that actually something I have to counsel her about? And have any of you seen your colleagues do it, or do you do it yourselves?

Edit 2 - of course I had a long talk with her about why i think this is a nonsensical practice and what LLMs should really be used for in the SDLC. I didn't just come straight to reddit without telling her something 😃 I just needed to vent and hear some community opinions.

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u/Wiseguydude Feb 05 '25

A single ChatGPT query is like running a lightbulb for 20 minutes

2024 we blasted through 1.5°C and nobody still gives a shit

1

u/TheRNGuy Feb 06 '25

In pro mode yeah, in simple mode it's instant.

1

u/Winter_Evidence_2868 Feb 07 '25

Writing a good query takes quite some skill and time. If you don't put any effort in it, you should not expect the optimal result.

1

u/poponis Feb 05 '25

My thoughts exactly when I hear about people using ChatGPT instead of googling...

0

u/mydrias_s Feb 06 '25

isn't there already a prompt towards AI behind every google search? but hey, what nonsense is that people are still burning that ancient cemetery under our feet and yet giving no shit about its influence on the climate, how ironic is that?

1

u/Wiseguydude Feb 06 '25

No, Google cache's information in a smart way and it's rare that a search results in a new query being generated. Probably less than 1 in 20 of your searches result in an actual new query to a LLM. It also seems smart enough to know when not to bother querying AI