Birbla

Discussion summary

A 13-year-old created an ant colony tracker app, receiving mixed reactions. Some praise its design, while others question its accuracy and AI capabilities.

What the discussion says

  • Some users find the UI impressive and stylish.
  • Others question how the counting is done and the AI's accuracy.
  • There is curiosity about existing ant-keeping tools and the app's novelty.
  • Haters are criticized for lack of knowledge about ants or AI.
“Fancy vibe coded UI, but who does the counting?”
— jianfenglin
“Super impressive!”
— ljcoco

Comments

Hacker News

Seems like something you could do in a spreadsheet with less time.

What's the advantage?

by tantalor

Thanks everyone for the feedback, it really means a lot to him. Wasn't trying to start a debate about using AI to learn to code; I just want him excited about building things, and this was one way to do that. He's already looking at some of the suggestions here (hemisphere setting, more species) for the next version.

by abelgvidal

Damn... I just got that, Formic queen in Enders Game... ants

by ge96

On mobile the site is not properly scaled, I need to horizonally scroll. I'm not into ants so I won't register but this is what I like to see. An expert within a specific field that thanks to AI can now build niche tools that are helpful. Keep it up!

by cinntaile

Not closely related to the app itself, but how does the worker count graph work? Do you count them visually and put in the data? Or how do you know how many ants you have?

by echoangle

Would be good if you can set a hemisphere (I assume nuptial flights are different in northern vs southern hemisphere. Adding more ant species would be helpful too. Camponotus consobrinus, iridomyrmex purpureus and aphaenogaster longiceps are pretty common in Australia.

by nreilly

As a 40 year old who has had colonies since he's your kiddo's age, please thank him for me! I've created an account :).

by jlengrand

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  • Hacker News
  • Seems like something you could do in a spreadsheet with less time.

    What's the advantage?

    by tantalor
  • Thanks everyone for the feedback, it really means a lot to him. Wasn't trying to start a debate about using AI to learn to code; I just want him excited about building things, and this was one way to do that. He's already looking at some of the suggestions here (hemisphere setting, more species) for the next version.
    by abelgvidal
  • Damn... I just got that, Formic queen in Enders Game... ants
    by ge96
  • On mobile the site is not properly scaled, I need to horizonally scroll. I'm not into ants so I won't register but this is what I like to see. An expert within a specific field that thanks to AI can now build niche tools that are helpful. Keep it up!
    by cinntaile
  • Not closely related to the app itself, but how does the worker count graph work? Do you count them visually and put in the data? Or how do you know how many ants you have?
    by echoangle
  • Would be good if you can set a hemisphere (I assume nuptial flights are different in northern vs southern hemisphere. Adding more ant species would be helpful too. Camponotus consobrinus, iridomyrmex purpureus and aphaenogaster longiceps are pretty common in Australia.
    by nreilly
  • As a 40 year old who has had colonies since he's your kiddo's age, please thank him for me! I've created an account :).
    by jlengrand