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Nature of Software Work vs. “Coding Is Solved”

• Some argue coding is increasingly like “shoving logs into CNC machines”: low-skill prompting where agents do the mechanical work, eroding the craft and joy of programming.
• Others push back: software engineering includes requirements, architecture, debugging, testing, integration, and accountability; only the literal code-writing is being automated.
• Several note that agents still go on “wild goose chases” without careful prompts and domain knowledge, so human thinking remains central.
• One view: the “terrible cost” isn’t job loss yet, but the sense that the intellectually satisfying part of development is being hollowed out, making it feel like a “fake job.”

Do LLMs “Think” or Invent?

• Skeptics claim LLMs don’t think or create new things; they just remix training data and “vibe” based on scale and existing text.
• Others counter that humans also mostly recombine prior ideas; the hard part historically has been implementing combinations, not imagining them.
• Debate over whether inventions like electricity, RF communication, lasers, and transistors are genuinely novel or just incremental on centuries of work.
• Some note that giving agents feedback loops (e.g., compiling and fixing their own code, interacting with the physical world) makes “invention-like” behavior plausible.

Agentic Coding in Emulation and Retro Projects

• The article is cited as a strong example of a coding agent building a PowerPC dynamic recompiler for MAME under human guidance.
• Another linked series describes an AI-assisted, largely unsupervised, cycle-accurate Intellivision emulator.
• A separate project is adding a JIT to classic Mac emulators, with humans still handling tricky hardware-register behavior.

Nostalgia and Classic Mac Tools

• Discussion contrasts today’s Grapher.app with the original Mac Graphing Calculator, highlighting its “legendary” guerrilla-development backstory.
• Some lament that such passion-driven, rule-bending efforts feel rarer in modern large tech companies.

Access and Meta Issues

• Multiple readers report 403 Forbidden errors, seemingly region/ISP-dependent; others confirm access via normal browsers, Tor, or web archives.
• A few complain that the title gives no hint the article is about emulation.

Terminator 2 and AI Futures

• The title line is traced to Terminator 2; many say the film’s effects and story have aged well, noting its heavy use of practical effects.
• Some argue our real trajectory resembles fiction about hyper-capable but unconscious systems more than self-aware Skynet; others insist current dangers still stem mainly from human actors.