alt Hacker NewsPrecise specs must always be given, they cannot be reasoned into existence, because they are shaped by external considerations.
No matter how intelligent the executor is, without knowledge of the relevant external context, specs will always have to be clearly defined and given.
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> Precise specs must always be given
This is the paramount need with AI.
Earlier when we were writing code by hand, since both specification and coding were done by us we could easily iterate over them in our head and thus keep them in sync.
Now the only input is the specification and it must be precise (however incomplete) so that we can be sure that there is no ambiguity when AI interprets it. Iterate and refine the spec as needed and you are assured that the code does what you want it to do. Inform AI to enforce the invariants from the spec directly in code as asserts/contracts and you have guaranteed traceability through code. This is the "Correctness-by-Construction" (CbC) approach to programming.
It would be worthwhile for folks to study the classic specification languages like Z-notation/B-method/Alloy/etc. and learn to use those productively with AI.
Some resources:
VibeContract: The Missing Quality Assurance Piece in Vibe Coding - https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.15691
Specification-Driven Development as the Foundation of AI-Native Enterprise Software Engineering - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.16680
The post seemingly tries to get at this with its discussion of 'oracles', but the quality of its writing and argumentation does it no favors. I actually hope it was written by AI, because if not, the authors could stand to benefit from a Claude detox. It's rife with the signs of brainrot from LLM over-reliance.