I used to get a boost out of solving difficult problems, whether that’s coding or business, debugging for hours and finally figuring it out. But now I feel that both my skills and enjoyment are dropping off.
Yes, we can get things done quicker. But what's the cost?
I recently watched a video by Syntax about ‘The True cost of AI coding’ which is great, it was a really honest and detailed video about AI coding and burn out from it. How automating things we did in the past is making us more bored and at a loss.
They liken it to a slot machine, sometimes you get what you’re looking for, often you don’t. It’s akin to doom scrolling, getting short and consistent hits of dopamine but constantly chasing that.
Our skills are muscles. We don't use them and they atrophy over time. I've found it with coding. With the way AI is going, I wouldn't be surprised if it makes people feel their worth or purpose is diminishing.
Don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for AI. Some of the productivity gains and advancements we've got from it, think medicine and research, can't be ignored. Gone are the days where we have to spend hours writing boilerplate or days prototyping something. That saves time, money and effort.
But what is the real risk of rapid improvement and change? We can't keep up with the speed. In trying to, we lose critical context, we lose critical thinking, and we weaken our muscles.
It’s hard to get our of your echo chamber sometimes with these things, being a software developer I am firmly plastered with solopreneur AI building clubs and that software devs and programmers are going to be replaced. But, when I talk to those who aren’t in tech or the surrounding world, they either don’t care, haven’t heard much about it or hate generative ai.
Sometimes the thought of being able to build anything is not a positive, but overwhelming. What idea do we pick? What do we chase and build? What’s the point? What value would I be bringing to people?! Normally we would take time and validate the idea, now we can just build it, but often you’ll be sat around waiting for users to turn up.
Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
So what's the differentiator? What makes building an energy-intensive exercise that's positive rather than negative? I keep landing on the same answer. Community. Getting out of the digital and into the physical.
Why do we need to go faster? Even when we can't keep up with ourselves and lose track of what's actually going on? Most of the time it comes down to maximising profits, launching a new product, or shipping more features nobody really needs.
Speed isn't always good.
You don't have to be a developer for this to apply. Whatever you do, something is being sped up around you right now and the pitch is always the same: less effort, more output. It’s worth asking what you're giving up for it. The problem you don't get to solve. The skill you stop using. The muscle you let go.
The tools will keep getting faster. That part isn't up to you. What you build with your own hands, and who you build it alongside, still is.
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