The Lisp curse spreads to other ecosystems
The gist
Developer Tim Zöller argued LLM code generation could shrink use of open source libraries and stall new ones.
The debate splits over whether fewer dependencies helps or hurts shared code.
How it unfolded
- Mar 5, 2026Tim Zöller publishes "The LISP curse, now coming to your ecosystem!", arguing that if LLM code generation is easier than using libraries, fewer developers will use open source libraries and new library creation will stagnate.
- Nov 5, 2026The post is submitted to Hacker News by user marcolinux, reaching 18 points with 1 comment.
- Nov 5, 2026daily.dev aggregates the post; its community take reports 111 comments, 30% positive, 45% mixed and 25% skeptical.
Key terms
- LLM
- A machine learning model trained on huge amounts of text to generate, summarize, translate, and analyze language.
- LISP dialects
- A family of programming languages with fully parenthesized prefix notation, including Common Lisp, Scheme, Racket, and Clojure.
Source: Wikipedia