AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard'

Re:AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest... by runako on Thursday August 21, 2025 @10:33AM (#44973290)

> Dead code has no “weight”

Assuming it is truly dead and not executable (which someone would have to verify is & remains the case), dead code exerts a pressure on every human engineer who has to read (around) it, determine that it is still dead, etc. It also creates risk that it will be inadvertently activated and create e.g. security exposure.

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Re:AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest... by stockresearcher on Thursday August 21, 2025 @10:59AM (#44973620)

Yes, we all love pedantry around here (that’s probably 99% of the reason I wrote the original comment!)

But if your position is that the percentage of time in the software lifecycle that dead code has a negative effect on a system is anywhere close to the percentage of time in an aircraft lifecycle that extra non-functional rivets (or other unnecessary weight objects) has a negative effect on the aircraft, you’re just wrong.

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Re:AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest... by fragmede on Thursday August 21, 2025 @12:15PM (#44974550)

it's still directionally accurate though. Dead code has a weight that must be paid. Sometimes the best commits are the ones where you delete a ton of lines.

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