As a concrete example of what I mean, if AI writes 90% of your code (which is totally plausible and true for me as well on some projects) IMO that is still not a strong predictor of your productivity
January 19, 2026 at 9:00 PM
As a concrete example of what I mean, if AI writes 90% of your code (which is totally plausible and true for me as well on some projects) IMO that is still not a strong predictor of your productivity
, a massive shift in individual productivity that fundamentally changes how businesses are structured is still in the realm of what might be, not what is, imo, and I think that’s relevant to the quoted post
January 19, 2026 at 8:54 PM
, a massive shift in individual productivity that fundamentally changes how businesses are structured is still in the realm of what might be, not what is, imo, and I think that’s relevant to the quoted post
I promise I’m not trying to split hairs here, I think the point I’m trying to make is that the hypemen have always been talking about huge changes in *productivity* that will lead to mass layoffs etc, and while there have anecdotally been really interesting workflow changes (I’ve had several myself)
January 19, 2026 at 8:53 PM
I promise I’m not trying to split hairs here, I think the point I’m trying to make is that the hypemen have always been talking about huge changes in *productivity* that will lead to mass layoffs etc, and while there have anecdotally been really interesting workflow changes (I’ve had several myself)
OK - I'm just pointing out that what the "most hypebrained shill" said would happen has not in fact come to pass, contrary to what you said. This distinction is actually pretty important in the context of the chain of posts you quoted, I think
January 19, 2026 at 7:58 PM
OK - I'm just pointing out that what the "most hypebrained shill" said would happen has not in fact come to pass, contrary to what you said. This distinction is actually pretty important in the context of the chain of posts you quoted, I think
"what they're doing right now is exactly what the most hypebrained shill said would happen"
Well, no - the hypebrained shills were (and still are) saying that LLMs would make software engineers obsolete. There's still no evidence of this IMO.
Well, no - the hypebrained shills were (and still are) saying that LLMs would make software engineers obsolete. There's still no evidence of this IMO.
January 19, 2026 at 7:45 PM
"what they're doing right now is exactly what the most hypebrained shill said would happen"
Well, no - the hypebrained shills were (and still are) saying that LLMs would make software engineers obsolete. There's still no evidence of this IMO.
Well, no - the hypebrained shills were (and still are) saying that LLMs would make software engineers obsolete. There's still no evidence of this IMO.
Semantics. My point is that sneering at ordinary people of another nation has no purpose other than to darken your own soul, to push you further into nationalism and xenophobia, whereas critique of those in power is healthy and important.
January 19, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Semantics. My point is that sneering at ordinary people of another nation has no purpose other than to darken your own soul, to push you further into nationalism and xenophobia, whereas critique of those in power is healthy and important.
These two views are obviously compatible. A call for general strike is a call for ordinary people to retake the agency that they are not currently using. This is irrelevant to the point however, which is that it’s more productive to direct your critiques at those with the most agency
January 19, 2026 at 5:29 PM
These two views are obviously compatible. A call for general strike is a call for ordinary people to retake the agency that they are not currently using. This is irrelevant to the point however, which is that it’s more productive to direct your critiques at those with the most agency
Ordinary people of all nations deserve compassion and grace. Your sneering should be reserved for those with power and agency. This is pretty basic stuff.
January 19, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Ordinary people of all nations deserve compassion and grace. Your sneering should be reserved for those with power and agency. This is pretty basic stuff.
Zitron prime disavows Zitron 2
January 17, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Zitron prime disavows Zitron 2
Agreed, but worth noting that this is also a symptom of OSS compensation being broken - the core tailwind library is the highest value thing they produce, still quite valuable post-LLMs, and they don’t see a cent of revenue from it
January 8, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Agreed, but worth noting that this is also a symptom of OSS compensation being broken - the core tailwind library is the highest value thing they produce, still quite valuable post-LLMs, and they don’t see a cent of revenue from it
I’m not seeing what in here refutes the conclusion of the other METR study? LLMs can be faster at completing various tasks than humans and still make developers less productive
January 1, 2026 at 8:17 PM
I’m not seeing what in here refutes the conclusion of the other METR study? LLMs can be faster at completing various tasks than humans and still make developers less productive
Literally everything you attributed to me, both between the quotes and afterward, is not true. God damn this is really the anti-critical-thinking zone isn’t it
December 31, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Literally everything you attributed to me, both between the quotes and afterward, is not true. God damn this is really the anti-critical-thinking zone isn’t it
authoritative statements about the morality of a certain vote, then I think those statements deserve some scrutiny. The classic thought experiment here is the trolley problem and it’s interesting to me to see where people fall on it
December 30, 2025 at 11:47 PM
authoritative statements about the morality of a certain vote, then I think those statements deserve some scrutiny. The classic thought experiment here is the trolley problem and it’s interesting to me to see where people fall on it
I totally agree re: assignment of blame! And I think that’s the correct way to look at the big picture. But upthread, folks were discussing the morality of an individual vote, and in that framing I think “cast your ballot however you feel compelled” is a cop-out answer. If we’re going to make
December 30, 2025 at 11:46 PM
I totally agree re: assignment of blame! And I think that’s the correct way to look at the big picture. But upthread, folks were discussing the morality of an individual vote, and in that framing I think “cast your ballot however you feel compelled” is a cop-out answer. If we’re going to make
*guy who posts 25 times a day voice* battles follow me
December 27, 2025 at 7:47 PM
*guy who posts 25 times a day voice* battles follow me
I mean, it was originally reduced to a totem by its proponents, namely VCs and prominent tech bros, who presented it to the general public in a specific way that very predictably resulted in the backlash you’re referring to. This seems pretty obvious to me?
December 19, 2025 at 4:53 AM
I mean, it was originally reduced to a totem by its proponents, namely VCs and prominent tech bros, who presented it to the general public in a specific way that very predictably resulted in the backlash you’re referring to. This seems pretty obvious to me?
Yeah agreed on all counts. Even a modest increase is nothing to sneer at, especially if you don’t have to counterbalance it on slop cleanup duty
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Yeah agreed on all counts. Even a modest increase is nothing to sneer at, especially if you don’t have to counterbalance it on slop cleanup duty
I guess I see both sides of this. My optimal outcome is that the tech is heavily regulated, and the anti-AI left are the loudest voices I see pushing in a direction that might lead to that, so I don’t mind them terribly much even if their rhetoric is imprecise. Idk
November 26, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I guess I see both sides of this. My optimal outcome is that the tech is heavily regulated, and the anti-AI left are the loudest voices I see pushing in a direction that might lead to that, so I don’t mind them terribly much even if their rhetoric is imprecise. Idk
Posts like this seem to carry an implicit assumption that it’s simple to separate the tech itself from the loudest voices pushing it and the things it’s most visibly being used for, and I’m sorry but it’s just not
November 26, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Posts like this seem to carry an implicit assumption that it’s simple to separate the tech itself from the loudest voices pushing it and the things it’s most visibly being used for, and I’m sorry but it’s just not
IME, people who care a lot about code quality and attention to detail get marginal returns from it. They tend to use it for more niche cases where it delivers a clear win and are not outsourcing their daily coding to it in any meaningful way
November 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
IME, people who care a lot about code quality and attention to detail get marginal returns from it. They tend to use it for more niche cases where it delivers a clear win and are not outsourcing their daily coding to it in any meaningful way
IIRC from a previous post I saw, you work at a place that seems to select very aggressively for above average coders, so yes, important to remember that that’s not the norm. But also, I’d be surprised to learn that LLM tooling delivers significant productivity increases in that environment.
November 26, 2025 at 8:01 PM
IIRC from a previous post I saw, you work at a place that seems to select very aggressively for above average coders, so yes, important to remember that that’s not the norm. But also, I’d be surprised to learn that LLM tooling delivers significant productivity increases in that environment.
as a software engineer, ai coding makes my life measurably worse by polluting the information environment and vastly increasing the scale of incorrect bullshit my peers can and do create that i then have to clean up, or worse, guard against and NOT clean up. it actively makes people around me dumber
I think that may be the core division here: if you are an author or an artist the cons of generative AI very likely outweigh the pros for you
If you are a software developer the opposite is true
If you are a software developer the opposite is true
November 26, 2025 at 7:40 PM
My point here is that even in software, the productivity gain is IMO very arguable
November 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
My point here is that even in software, the productivity gain is IMO very arguable
LLMs are actively making my work life harder. I push latest models and agentic coding tools to the limit regularly with unimpressive results. Meanwhile I have the new time suck of reviewing and cleaning up the slop that my colleagues now gleefully generate on a daily basis.
November 26, 2025 at 7:34 PM
LLMs are actively making my work life harder. I push latest models and agentic coding tools to the limit regularly with unimpressive results. Meanwhile I have the new time suck of reviewing and cleaning up the slop that my colleagues now gleefully generate on a daily basis.
IMO the comparison between LLMs and guns is surprisingly apt
- I use both
- I think on balance the world would be a better place if both didn’t exist
- I recognize there’s no putting that toothpaste back in the tube so we might as well try and make the best of it
- I use both
- I think on balance the world would be a better place if both didn’t exist
- I recognize there’s no putting that toothpaste back in the tube so we might as well try and make the best of it
November 18, 2025 at 6:57 PM
IMO the comparison between LLMs and guns is surprisingly apt
- I use both
- I think on balance the world would be a better place if both didn’t exist
- I recognize there’s no putting that toothpaste back in the tube so we might as well try and make the best of it
- I use both
- I think on balance the world would be a better place if both didn’t exist
- I recognize there’s no putting that toothpaste back in the tube so we might as well try and make the best of it