What Sort of Magic?
The article examines the evolving role of large language models (LLMs) in programming and broader intellectual work, framing their impact through the metaphor of "magic" as a screen that obscures understanding. It highlights how LLMs have increasingly automated tasks once central to programmers—such...
| Publicado en: | New Polity: A Journal of Postliberal Thought Vol. 7; no. 3; pp. 64 - 71 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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New Polity
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=196781177&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 196781177 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 26940922 MMCU jtl: New Polity: A Journal of Postliberal Thought issn: 26940922 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2026 vid: 7 iid: 3 pid: 58805 pub: New Polity artinfo: ui: 196781177 ppf: 64 ppct: 7 formats: tig: atl: What Sort of Magic? aug: au: KLINGLER, RONALD su: Language models Computer programming Creative ability Mental work Automation Learned institutions & societies sug: subj: Language models Computer programming Creative ability Mental work Automation Learned institutions & societies ab: The article examines the evolving role of large language models (LLMs) in programming and broader intellectual work, framing their impact through the metaphor of "magic" as a screen that obscures understanding. It highlights how LLMs have increasingly automated tasks once central to programmers—such as researching, writing, and puzzling through code—leading to a decline in traditional programming textual communities and skills. This shift parallels concerns about the erosion of literate scholarly communities, as reliance on AI-generated summaries and outputs may weaken engagement with disciplinary norms and original texts. The author situates these changes within a cultural context referencing Tolkien’s concept of magic and power, questioning what is lost as human creativity and communal knowledge-making are supplanted by AI approximations of intellectual labor. pubtype: Periodical doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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