AstonJ
In an age of AI, is static typing even necessary?
Inspired by Andrew’s post in another thread about types:
If the main benefit of static typing is to catch errors, and most people think it’s only a matter of time before AI will be so advanced they’d consider it a necessity, are types then even necessary? Could it be argued types may help in the short term but it’s only a matter of time when they will become superfluous and redundant?
- I think static-typing will always be useful
- I think static-typing will be useful for the short term
- I’m not a fan of static types/have no intention of (or don’t think I’ll be) using them/don’t think they are worth it now or will be in the foreseeable future (feel free to elaborate in thread)
- Other (please say in thread)
(Please note this is a general discussion, not necessarily about Elixir)
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dimitarvp
Static typing will be always useful because it reduces the problem search surface for any computer, be it a strict algorithm or an LLM. Less assumptions + more certainty = better solutions.
avi-turetsky
I voted other. 1) I think we’re a long ways away from LLMs/AI getting to the point where where types are superfluous. 2) As an engineer I’ve simultaneously enjoyed the wild west of Ruby and and more “locked down” languages with modern type systems. I could honestly go either way (right tool for the job, etc.). But I do think types will be invaluable for the next ~5 years. LLMs perform best when they have access to quick self correcting feedback loops. Right now types and tests serve that role.
jdiago
Here’s a screenshot from the Matz keynote at RubyKaigi 2025 where he talks about this very topic. My only wish is for better subtitles since the ones there are from the live translation during the talk so it’s a bit hard to understand the context.
Whole video here:
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