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Comment by cjs_ac | Hacker News Reader

> The phrase “reflexive AI usage” is what triggered my strongest reaction. “Reflexive” suggests unthinking, automatic reliance. It implies delegating not just tasks but judgment itself.

Does it? When I trained as a schoolteacher, we were required to engage in 'reflexive practice', meaning at the end of the school day, we were expected to sit down and think about - reflect - on what had happened that day. I don't know how the Shopify CEO meant that phrase, but 'reflexive AI usage' has two conflicting meanings - it can be AI usage that is either actively or passively chosen - and we might need some better phrasing around this.

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> I don't know how the Shopify CEO meant

I left Shopify a couple weeks ago and Tobi is very, very all-in on AI being an integral part of all jobs at Shopify.

Tobi said that how you use AI is now an official part of your review, and that for any new recs, you need to show that the job can't be done by an ai. I left shortly after the memo so I do not know if things have changed.

Shopify also brought in a very AI CTO a few months ago that internally has been... interesting to say the least.

Also, anecdotally, the quality of code at Shopify was declining rapidly (leaderships words, not mine). All sorts of code-reds and yellows were happening to try and wrangle quality. This isn't Blind so no need for the gore and opinions, but we'll have to see how this shakes out for Shopify.

I thought ceos are more like coaches who motivate, and inspire. But not dictate employees on how they should execute. Since, engineers are expected to be far more capable than the ceo on their daily work (if not, the ceo needs to evaluate hiring practices). Tying ai-use to perf review and compensation is just more unnecessary process which incentivizes behaviors which may be counter-productive - "Oh, look, I am such a brilliant prompt-engineer"

So, the memo seemed to baby-sit adult engineers. It goes without saying that engineers will use AI as they see fit, and the least a company would do is to make copilot subscriptions available for the staff if needed.

> we were required to engage in 'reflexive practice', meaning at the end of the school day, we were expected to sit down and think about - reflect - on what had happened that day.

That is _reflective_ practice (which involves reflection). Reflexive otoh comes from 'reflex', which does suggest unthinking automaticity.

No, reflexive and reflective are synonyms; they are alternative forms of adjectives derived from the Latin verb flecto, flectere, flexi, flexum (note that both English spellings are present in the principal parts).

They both have multiple meanings in English. The article was using reflexive this way: “ characterized by habitual and unthinking behavior.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reflexive

Is that fair to the word given its roots, no, but that is English for you. :)

As bad as Merriam-Webster is, you might notice that 'characterised by habitual and unthinking behaviour' is the fourth, i.e., least common, definition offered, not the first.

Somehow I knew you would keep digging. :) It’s not marked as an archaic so any of them are valid. Context tells the reader which is being used.

> Somehow I knew you would keep digging. :)

I was the teacher who thought words were fun. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be acceptable any more. :(

> Context tells the reader which is being used.

That's the thing: if you read the CEO's post on its own, with both meanings in mind, it's not clear (at least to me) which is intended.

Words and civil debate seeking truth are fun!

The following behavior is not.

> No, reflexive and reflective are synonyms; ...

> I was the teacher who thought words were fun. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be acceptable any more. :(

Words are fun, especially etymology! And students do respond well to enthusiasm for them, or at least appreciate it later. Thank you for that. My wife also teaches English and a foreign language so that’s a part of our life.

That said, how could you have read this and not understood the context for the definition used?! “The phrase “reflexive AI usage” is what triggered my strongest reaction. “Reflexive” suggests unthinking, automatic reliance.”

I thought it was fine to object that you liked the primary definition the most and had the strongest association with it.

Merriam-Webster uses historical order, not how common the meanings are [0], which makes more sense to me - I'm not entirely sure I've ever heard the "reflective" meaning for "reflexive". The "unthinking" meaning is definitely more common.

[0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/explanatory-notes/dict-... (See "Order of Senses")

Regardless of etymology, I believe the use of “reflexive” means something different in the article than “reflective.” The Shopify CEO isn’t describing insightful use of AI in coding. He is describing automatic, unthinking use of AI. At least, that it was my understanding.

It's been a LONG time since my latin. But doesn't the active vs. passive capture the distinction we're talking about in English quite well?

A reflexive action is taken passively, without thought.

A reflective action is taken actively, with careful thought.

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