The edge area in front of the model

if you’re a software engineer worried about losing your job to AI, good news:

claude code still isn’t great at logic.

illustration:

I have a demo app I use to test backend stuff, but it’s evolving and now has a settings page

I recently moved from local storage to backend because there were new backend settings, to avoid pushing them after the backend restarts

so I asked claude to make sure that the frontend can only PUT /api/settings if the settings have been loaded from the backend, and write tests

do you see the problem in its answer?

#3 contradicts #4.

It tried to be helpful by making sure “the UI isn’t permanently stuck”.

but if “loaded” becomes true with UI defaults, then it can save, and it will save those defaults over the backend. Exactly the problem that it was trying to fix.

Models will get better at this, but it illustrates that there’s an edge area in front of the model where you and the model can complement the other. They don’t do exactly the same thing you do, so learn what they don’t and focus on growing your skills there.