I wonder if we're being overly selfish here and ignore the positive effects of democratizing programming and making software more accessible to less well funded causes and organizations. A good software engineer used to cost 100k/year, very few businesses could afford that.
I also disagree that AI results are lower quality. Codex Pro results I get are marvelous but they sometimes miss things that humans understand naturally - all of the edges - coherence of visuals, passage of time, etc.
Instead of the usual knee-jerk it would be nice to see some level-header analysis on mechanics of these things - who pays for the time of the people that decide to push this particular piece of legislation, how they manage to get into the door, who personally makes the proposal, how they gather support for it.
I've had a strange experience this week at a maker meetup in my city. Couple dozen people came to make a short presentation about what they're building and there was a somewhat lively networking with food and drinks. The project quality was all over the place but what struck me is that nobody really wanted to keep in touch after the meeting beyond adding each other on LinkedIn. I have even created a Telegram group and got several folks to join but they never replied or posted anything so today I had to just delete the group. Perhaps I didn't make the right impression or I've misunderstood the reasons people go to such meetups
I've stopped using YouTube and Reddit since early April and it's been a mixed bag.
On one side my interest level has adjusted so that normal activities make sense again - like sitting in the garden or playing a game with my kid. I've also completed dozens of projects like replacing old silicon in the entire kitchen or updating the garden playground.
On the other side I'm feeling more isolated and lacking information / stimulation for creative output because I no longer have any idea what other people are doing. However given that massive amounts of time have been freed I'm more productive both at work and at home, more effort on health too.
It's definitely something to try but it's not all roses.
Try contacting YouTube creators in your area. Much more cost efficient than any other kinds of ads especially if you pick channels with your target audience IF you can actually get creators to promote you (most won't reply).
I also disagree that AI results are lower quality. Codex Pro results I get are marvelous but they sometimes miss things that humans understand naturally - all of the edges - coherence of visuals, passage of time, etc.