He was handed a gameboy before he could walk, but it didn’t lessen his humanity. He was handed a smartphone before middle school, but his humanity remained intact. He started calling the “people” he met on social media his friends, and humanity didn’t suffer. But alas, using AI is a bridge too far.
It may be surprising, but community participation isn’t a priority for all developers. Myself, I want to write reliable code and then live my life. If I can do that more efficiently with AI assistance, that’s a win for me.
Yesterday I needed to create an SDS (material safety data sheet) for one of my products. This would usually take me a few hours, maybe half a day. An agent did it for me in 5 minutes. This example isn’t unique; for a small business owner, AI is a quality of life improvement.
I’ve been a small business (manufacturing) owner for about 25 years. AI saves me time, extends my reach and reduces my time to market. AI isn’t a threat to me; it’s a daily tool I use. I’m also a former SWE - I took time most of Anthropic’s courses to maximize my ability to leverage the tools. It’s a win/win for me.
I don’t blame them for how they feel. In fact, I feel sorry for them. Covid took a few years from them, then AI comes along and invalidates their career choices. That’s a hard case.
We all have self-constructed identities. When threat of deconstruction presents itself, we react. E.g. my college degree isn’t worth what I thought it was, therefore I’m not the person I thought I was, therefore AI is evil, doesn’t work right, is bad for the environment, is bad for society, et. al.
“This thing makes me feel less special, therefore I don’t like it.”