I agree with Davit T, AI is a useful tool, and I understand where Patrick is coming from - homemade bread as opposed to industrial bread.
AI can write good code and is ideal if you are (a) not a coder and / or (b) don't want to be one - and are prepared to do a bit of 'kneading' rather than just accepting the first draft. My wife is definitely not a coder, yet she got a really good program running doing exactly what she wanted by using AI. The key is to be as precise as you can be in the first instance. After running the program, if it does not do exactly what you want, ask AI to rewrite it so that it can do X, Y and Z as well, but not do A, B or C. And then keep refining it until it is correct. After about an hour's work et Voila! One happy wife. AI is here to stay, but we don;t have to use it - yet. GH On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 at 08:48, David T. via gnucash-user < [email protected]> wrote: > Patrick, > > Regardless of the hand (?) that wrote the code, this is Python code, which > is eminently readable by a huge number of people. Hell, I don't even code > Python, but I can generally make out what's going on here. (Don't try me > with Scheme, though.) If you suspect anything nefarious in this script, > call it out. > > But if your only concern is that it might not have been typed out by a > human hand, then just don't use the script. Frankly, if you don't > understand what a script (from any source) is actually doing, you probably > shouldn't be running it anyway. > > AI is a tool--just like autocorrect is a tool. And just like with > autocorrect, you the human had best be sure you're getting the result you > thought you were seeking. > > David T. > > P. S. Thanks for pointing out that policy page. > > > On August 14, 2026 9:34:55 AM GMT+05:30, Patrick James via gnucash-user < > [email protected]> wrote: > >I'm all about helpful information. Especially from those with skill, > knowledge and have a long history here, but I will note that 20 years ago > AI was not at issue. > > > >The rise of AI certainly has changed the landscape of what gets posted > online. Sometimes it's near impossible to determine what's written by a > human and what comes from some AI machine, and often the AI posts can cause > problems. > > > >There is a GnuCash AI Policy, but there are no specifics about > documentation or disclosure. Ethics and risks/benefits of AI/LLM use is > covered. > > > >https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/AI_Policy > > > > > >> On 08/13/2026 8:42 PM PDT David T. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> > >> Patrick, > >> > >> This list has always (well, for at least 20 years, the time I've > subscribed) included user suggestions (with code) on how to solve someone's > problems. > >> > >> Kalpesh's Python script clearly falls into that tradition. His script > solves a specific person's problem using a standard tool--both in the > broader sense of Python as a scripting language, and in the narrower > constraints of methods for managing GnuCash data. It is materially > different from a Github project seeking to cash in on the GnuCash user base > (the particular thread that triggered the discussion and policy creation > about "outside projects"). > >> > >> The list is here to help all users. If you're uncomfortable with the > Python (I haven't coded with it much, but I can get the general gist) you > can simply not attempt to run the code. > >> > >> I honestly hope that contributors like Kalpesh and Wm continue to share > their expertise with the group. Their contributions are a significant > positive part of the GnuCash community. > >> > >> David T. > >> > >> > >> On August 14, 2026 4:07:12 AM GMT+05:30, Patrick James via gnucash-user > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> > Kalpesh, > >> > > >> > What amount of these Python scripts are written by you? If asked, > could you explain each line? > >> > > >> > Also do all these messages about all of these scripts meet the new > outside helper program policy? > >> > > >> > The scripts themselves don't appear to have nefarious intent, but I > do question the need to keep posting various Python scripts in this forum, > especially in the light of the current helper program policy. Additionally, > since there are so many, it could be that someone misuses them. > >> > > >> > I'm all about helping people, and I'm all about helpful Python > scripts, but as a subscriber to this list, I'm losing the narrative of > what's going on with all of this, including this latest "not thoroughly > tested" Python script. > >> > > >> > > >> > > On 08/13/2026 3:15 PM PDT Kalpesh Patel <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > Not thoroughly tested but here is the one with even more > capabilities … Python v3.x with yfinance, lxml, logging, and gzip libraries > will be needed to work which will create prices.csv in current directory. > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > >> > --------------------------------------------- > >> > gnucash-user mailing list > >> > [email protected] > >> > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > >> > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > >> > --------------------------------------------- > >> > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > >> > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > >> > > >> > >_______________________________________________ > >gnucash-user mailing list > >[email protected] > >To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > >https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > >----- > >Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > >You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > _______________________________________________ > gnucash-user mailing list > [email protected] > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > ----- > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. 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