The Promise vs. Reality of AI in Tech
I'm genuinely excited about recent AI advancements. The tools continue improving, and we're discovering more ways to optimize and enhance our work. I've personally found a good rhythm using AI to multiply my skills rather than replace or hinder them.
However, I'm concerned about the industry's direction with these improvements. Instead of creating better developers, we're often replacing them.
Rather than building amazing accessibility tools, we're creating deep fakes and virtual companions.
Instead of developing better MVPs for *real * problems faster, we're seeing low-quality products marketed as revolutionary simply because they were built without coding experience, for no purpose other than a quick cash-grab.
Literally today on LinkedIn on my way to make the original post, I encounter yet another post in my feed from a "non-tech CEO who built this in 2 hours and it will put so many companies out of business!" 🙄
The Pushback Against Expertise
When experts and masters of their craft express concerns about these products, they're frequently dismissed as:
- "Behind the times"
- "Gatekeeping"
- "Not getting it"
But the ones saying these things are often the same people who post about "losing 4 months of work in Cursor" because they didn't know about basics like version control. Or who complain their project "became so big that Claude can't properly understand it" and now they can't continue, because they have zero underlying skill.
The Multiplayer Game Incident
What prompted this reflection was seeing a poorly executed multiplayer "game" being celebrated. While it technically ran, the quality was questionable at best. Yet when this was pointed out, critics faced pushback from the creator—someone whose credibility seemed primarily based on revenue from other AI products.
UPDATE: he's doing microtransactions in the game and people are buying it... WTH am I even doing with my life...
Quality vs. Quantity in the AI Era
It's disheartening to see professionals who dedicate their careers to building thoughtful solutions for real problems being overshadowed by substandard work that somehow finds a market. This isn't solely an AI issue:
Just look at the abundance of shovelware and shameless clones on platforms like Itch.io and the Nintendo eShop
Log out of YouTube and look at the Shorts that are popular outside your algorithm: a slew of AI-generated nonsensical garbage...
It seems that consumers increasingly prioritize cheap, easy, and quick over any kind of quality. Is that what we want as creators? Is this what we value as consumers?
Finding Balance in the AI Revolution
I struggle with this industry shift and don't have easy answers. Part of me recognizes a potential market opportunity, but my professional standards prevent me from releasing something I can't take pride in. Perhaps that's just my personal challenge to navigate.
As developers in this new AI-enhanced landscape, we face a choice:
- Race to the bottom with quick, low-quality solutions that exploit AI hype
- Use AI to enhance our existing skills and create truly valuable solutions that couldn't exist without both human expertise and AI assistance
I'm choosing the latter path. It's harder, and based on what I'm seeing probably a mistake, but ultimately I truly believe it is more fulfilling and beneficial for our industry.
Your Thoughts?
I'm curious how other developers are navigating this tension. Are you finding ways to use AI that enhance rather than replace your skills? Have you seen examples of AI being used to create genuinely innovative solutions rather than just cutting corners?
Let me know in the comments!
Full disclosure: I used some of my AI tooling to help "Improve formatting for readability" and also "Soften some of the stronger language while preserving my perspective" in this post. Because the first draft was not professional 😬
Originally posted on LinkedIn, adapted for Dev.to
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