Comment by marcosdumay
4 days ago
Weird baseless push for AI on the end, with no reasoning, no goal, no claim of gain. "Just go and use AI, people, developers must adopt new things."
It's not the first article I've read recently that is an ad for AI after a short context pretending to criticize it, with nothing connecting them.
AI is the new cloud. There's no market for people or companies who aren't committed to it. If you're a dev who refuses to use AI, no company will hire you; and should a company decide not to use AI they will have a hard time retaining devs (and they will need more devs). Their investors and big-ticket customers will also think twice before signing off on major commitments.
So yes, use AI. Don't nitpick the costs and benefits. The world is headed this way; if you want to develop software for a living and afford to eat, you need to be too.
> and should a company decide not to use AI they will have a hard time retaining devs (and they will need more devs)
Need more devs? Why? If a company was being profitable just fine prio AI era, they will still be profitable if they decide not to use AI. Shipping crap faster is not a formula for success. Shipping quality faster? I prefer shipping quality at a good pace
youll be outcompeted by companies that do use it (caveat: effectively)
growth is much more important than profitability
7 replies →
Enjoy getting your milkshake drunk by AI-first companies then.
> So yes, use AI. Don't nitpick the costs and benefits. The world is headed this way; if you want to develop software for a living and afford to eat, you need to be too.
It's really saddening to see software engineers throw out all critical thinking and innovation out the window to behave like sheep and follow the trend line. The industry was trailblazed by people that refused to do just that and the same is going to be true in the future.
Yes but most people aren’t trailblazers, they’re horribly average and just want to get by. This includes me.
This industry is hostile. You need a self preservationist mindset if you want long term success. Or, at least, it feels that was for someone who isn’t absurdly talented, wealthy, or connected. So, for now, we put our head down and be good little cogs.
I think of it this way. In a company with a good culture, I will build a rapport with my management and give my honest opinions. In a company with a bad culture, I just nod along and say “uh huh yeah yes sir what a great idea!” Because I know that’s it’s gonna get pushed through no matter what I say, and my opinions will only serve to hurt me.
And, right now, tech, or even America, is like one big company with a rotten, rotten culture.
Are you saying productivity is strictly greater for developers who don’t use AI?
2 replies →
It's much more than that. There's plenty of market for people and companies who don't specialise in cloud software. The market for programmers who don't use AI is going to be more like the market for programmers who don't use compilers.
Or, don’t. Do what you want, don’t listen to random people on the internet telling you what to do.
Oh come on, the value of AI > 0. That’s not a controversial take.
Maybe. The value of leaning Linux and basic shell tools is > 0 but a lot of devs do fine without.
My take is that “$EDITOR fluency” >> AI.