> I sadly suspect that if it's a choice between throwing a person or an LLM on an existing large and complex codebase cold ...
You're missing the point. Understanding has nothing to do with code.
"Code" is short for "encode", which is an industry term for "encoding a solution". This implies a solution has been formulated before it is expressed in a programming language.
There is no "codebase" without a person or people who understand what solution to reify in the first place.
> A model can absolutely help create understanding in the person overseeing these changes, provided that person deigns to ask for it.
A model can assist a person to gain understanding, sure, but like you said yourself:
... provided that person deigns to ask for it.
By this statement alone, you have proven my point of:
In order for agentic coding to be a net positive, the
instructions given to the AI offering must be from people
who understand what a system currently does as well as what
functionality a product needs to provide in its future
desired state.
You're missing the point. Understanding has nothing to do with code.
"Code" is short for "encode", which is an industry term for "encoding a solution". This implies a solution has been formulated before it is expressed in a programming language.
There is no "codebase" without a person or people who understand what solution to reify in the first place.
> A model can absolutely help create understanding in the person overseeing these changes, provided that person deigns to ask for it.
A model can assist a person to gain understanding, sure, but like you said yourself:
... provided that person deigns to ask for it.
By this statement alone, you have proven my point of: