Oh, it's not a big deal. I just hate talking about the chap in front of him. I like to give compliments specifically, and be vague about less-than-complimentary things.
The thing is, even the ML people are not exactly sure what's going on, under the hood. It's a very new field, with a ton of "Here, there be dragonnes" stuff. I feel that folks with a good grasp of long-term architectural experience, are a good bet; even if their experience is not precisely on topic.
That's true, but I see my friend who's an ML researcher, and his grasp of LLMs is an order of magnitude better than mine. Granted, when it comes to making a product out of it, I'm in a much better position, but for specific knowledge about how they work, their capabilities, etc, there's no contest.
The thing is, even the ML people are not exactly sure what's going on, under the hood. It's a very new field, with a ton of "Here, there be dragonnes" stuff. I feel that folks with a good grasp of long-term architectural experience, are a good bet; even if their experience is not precisely on topic.
I don't know how to do almost every project I start. I write about that, here: https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/thats-not-what-ships...