This article makes no sense. Just don't use AI and code by hand if that makes you happy.
When I want to stimulate my brain coding, I do things like AOC or Euler, and when I want to test out a quick prototype app I have AI do all the grunt work of setting it up and getting it to a point to see if I even think it's a good idea or not.
coding was never supposed to be fun, it was supposed to be instrumental
you interface with a machine to get the machine to do what you, a human, want it to do relevant to your human purposes
but out of necessity - turns out we need to control a lot of machines - we made the act ergonomic
this fit the aesthetic of some people. All to do with them and little to do with the act. Akin to alchemists or other purveyors of exotic knowledge, the relevance of their skill always had a countdown on it
all that's left is to circle back. Coding is instrumental. Now our alchemy is one more level abstracted from the artifice of the machine. Good. It's closer to people now - like management, now. That's bad for the current generation of alchemist but good for the world
earnest RIP. On the upside, there's always a next generation
AI-assisted development has helped me fall in love with coding again. This year, I’ve created more than 200 small applications and utilities that are delivering real value to the business, and I’m grateful that this work has been recognized with both a raise and a promotion.
You’re averaging a new application every business day? How does that even work deploying and maintenance? What happens if you leave and your 200 vibe coded apps become tech debt?
It reinspired me, the things that i can now pull off with AI would have died a slow death previously. I would have needed to do so much learning, research, debug, i would not have had the patience to complete it. Now i can finally build those things that i never had the time nor patience to do. Currently building my own language, claude code does an excellent job.
> at least the piano doesn’t autocomplete my scales.
Oh just you wait!
—-
You can get the challenge back by designing something instead of coding it. Lots of wonderfully designed things are not actually that remarkable from the implementation / manufacturing standpoint.
Create a new board game. Completely unchallenging from a coding standpoint, vibe away. But the fast coding steps open up the ability to actually explore and adjust game play in real time. Start by replicating a favorite game.
Create your own organizational software tools. Whatever you would use and other tools dissappointed.
Those are just examples. Go creative on what a thing does, how it looks, etc.
Nintendo’s generations of game hardware are a repeated lesson in great design despite, even because of, modest internals.
Yea, I never get these types of "AI killed the joy of insert hobby" arguments. By virtue of it being a hobby, I can make the conscious choice not to use AI for it. Really, there should be very few technological advances that can ever kill something that is truly a hobby (for example, people still knit, do metalworking, glassblowing, etc.). Now, if you want to get paid for working inefficiently compared to others, then yes, that will never happen.
> I am no longer solving any mentally-stimulating problems.. I am just copy-pasting code from an AI assistant.
I'm using AI plenty but looking at my use with a different lens. I like to code. It's fun. It's rewarding. I produce things with it. But it is also practically a means to an end for me. My job isn't purely code but also analysis, strategy, etc.
So, having lots of fun zooming through code problems that slowed me down in the past. I have more time for the analysis/strategy/etc.
I'm not a professional dev but I would encourage author to find a similar lens in their work, if possible. Not saying its easy! And if that solution isn't helping or attainable, maybe it's time to move on?
This article makes no sense. Just don't use AI and code by hand if that makes you happy.
When I want to stimulate my brain coding, I do things like AOC or Euler, and when I want to test out a quick prototype app I have AI do all the grunt work of setting it up and getting it to a point to see if I even think it's a good idea or not.
I have years old projects that have languished that I have resurrected due to AI-assisted coding.
- "embedded" (rpi) controller for a boxfan that runs in my lab
- VSR distributed consistency protocol library
- dead simple CQRS library
- OT library
I now have the CQRS library deployed to do accounting for a small SAAS that might generate revenue for me...
On the docket is:
- yard watering "embedded" (rpi) device
- fully personalized home thermostat
etc.
I've had the exact opposite response: I only enjoy coding now that the AI writes ~100% of the code.
coding was never supposed to be fun, it was supposed to be instrumental
you interface with a machine to get the machine to do what you, a human, want it to do relevant to your human purposes
but out of necessity - turns out we need to control a lot of machines - we made the act ergonomic
this fit the aesthetic of some people. All to do with them and little to do with the act. Akin to alchemists or other purveyors of exotic knowledge, the relevance of their skill always had a countdown on it
all that's left is to circle back. Coding is instrumental. Now our alchemy is one more level abstracted from the artifice of the machine. Good. It's closer to people now - like management, now. That's bad for the current generation of alchemist but good for the world
earnest RIP. On the upside, there's always a next generation
AI-assisted development has helped me fall in love with coding again. This year, I’ve created more than 200 small applications and utilities that are delivering real value to the business, and I’m grateful that this work has been recognized with both a raise and a promotion.
You’re averaging a new application every business day? How does that even work deploying and maintenance? What happens if you leave and your 200 vibe coded apps become tech debt?
“claude fix this tech det”
It reinspired me, the things that i can now pull off with AI would have died a slow death previously. I would have needed to do so much learning, research, debug, i would not have had the patience to complete it. Now i can finally build those things that i never had the time nor patience to do. Currently building my own language, claude code does an excellent job.
So much this. I've written countless shell scripts / clis that does small things that I would not have done before.
> at least the piano doesn’t autocomplete my scales.
Oh just you wait!
—-
You can get the challenge back by designing something instead of coding it. Lots of wonderfully designed things are not actually that remarkable from the implementation / manufacturing standpoint.
Create a new board game. Completely unchallenging from a coding standpoint, vibe away. But the fast coding steps open up the ability to actually explore and adjust game play in real time. Start by replicating a favorite game.
Create your own organizational software tools. Whatever you would use and other tools dissappointed.
Those are just examples. Go creative on what a thing does, how it looks, etc.
Nintendo’s generations of game hardware are a repeated lesson in great design despite, even because of, modest internals.
Yea, I never get these types of "AI killed the joy of insert hobby" arguments. By virtue of it being a hobby, I can make the conscious choice not to use AI for it. Really, there should be very few technological advances that can ever kill something that is truly a hobby (for example, people still knit, do metalworking, glassblowing, etc.). Now, if you want to get paid for working inefficiently compared to others, then yes, that will never happen.
> I am no longer solving any mentally-stimulating problems.. I am just copy-pasting code from an AI assistant.
I'm using AI plenty but looking at my use with a different lens. I like to code. It's fun. It's rewarding. I produce things with it. But it is also practically a means to an end for me. My job isn't purely code but also analysis, strategy, etc.
So, having lots of fun zooming through code problems that slowed me down in the past. I have more time for the analysis/strategy/etc.
I'm not a professional dev but I would encourage author to find a similar lens in their work, if possible. Not saying its easy! And if that solution isn't helping or attainable, maybe it's time to move on?