I don't disagree with wanting people to understand the product they're altering.
But whether or not this is actually needed or not now, I'm not so sure. LLMs are very good at parsing a codebase, discovering what needs to be changed to provide different functionality, suggesting any architecture changes that would be needed to do so, and ultimately implementing those changes within the bounds of an existing test suite.
I sadly suspect that if it's a choice between throwing a person or an LLM on an existing large and complex codebase cold, it's now safer and faster to use an LLM in many instances. Much better still to have someone with knowledge and understanding of the codebase work with an LLM, of course. But we're getting to the point that you can do a lot with little to no human knowledge at all.
(LLMs are also very good at bringing you up to speed with a large and complex codebase. A model can absolutely help create understanding in the person overseeing these changes, provided that person deigns to ask for it.)
But whether or not this is actually needed or not now, I'm not so sure. LLMs are very good at parsing a codebase, discovering what needs to be changed to provide different functionality, suggesting any architecture changes that would be needed to do so, and ultimately implementing those changes within the bounds of an existing test suite.
I sadly suspect that if it's a choice between throwing a person or an LLM on an existing large and complex codebase cold, it's now safer and faster to use an LLM in many instances. Much better still to have someone with knowledge and understanding of the codebase work with an LLM, of course. But we're getting to the point that you can do a lot with little to no human knowledge at all.
(LLMs are also very good at bringing you up to speed with a large and complex codebase. A model can absolutely help create understanding in the person overseeing these changes, provided that person deigns to ask for it.)