I tried using Claude 3.7 to add features I want to some of my favorite plugins, such as adding a sort by frontmatter date property feature to Note Gallery. I have no coding background, my experience is mostly in CG render. Most of the time AI-altered plugins work well for me.
My initial thought is that because I don’t understand the code, therefor I shouldn’t contribute the code the the GitHub repo of those plugins, and just keep it to myself. But another argument is I could just send the code to the developers, so they can contribute to the repo after they reviewed it.
One may not have coding background but can have a good coding brain, which is needed for good prompting. AI needs good prompts from a human who anticipates things. And those who can anticipate can have good ideas.
Share the ideas as an FR at the GH Issues pages of the plugins. If you know what you are doing, you can share snippets of code.
But do know that AI generated code is frowned upon. Especially code that can have destructive results.
I forget who said it. In software there are different types of free; There is free as in beer, there is free as in speech. And there is free as in “hey, here’s a free puppy!”
Bear in mind that even if you have a great new feature, contributing code is also handing work to a developer, to verify and integrate everything. I wouldn’t personally send code I don’t understand to someone.
If you do, your emphasis should likely be on explaining what the new feature is, and why you want it, and how using your modification has helped you, framed as a feature request. The developer might have their own idea about how to implement it, or have good reasons not to. But the important bit will be your clear explanations, not a pile of generated code to read through.
There is nothing inherently wrong with AI generated code [citation needed]. The problem is more when people just throw it down as an answer or solution, or take it for granted/correct, or put the burden on others to find the subtle flaws or blatant mistakes.