[Go Make Things] AI myth: it lets me move faster

By rahmat hidayat

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

​ Yesterday, I wrote about the AI myth that it returns better results than Google. Today, I wanted to cover another common responses I got to my article on how AI is a grift… It lets me and my team move faster. At the risk of telling you that your lived experience is invalid: no it doesn't. Nearly all of the studies done on the productivity gains of AI tools are based on self-reporting shortly after someone starts using the tools, when they feel novel and the glasses are rose-colored. A recent study by UpWork found that, once devs had a chance to really start using the tools as part of their daily workflow, productivity was either unchanged or decreased… Nearly half (47%) of workers using AI say they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect. Over three in four (77%) say AI tools have decreased their productivity and added to their workload in at least one way. I've had developers tell me that Chat GPT can write boilerplate far faster than they could. They then go in and edit and clean it up. The time you spent crafting that finally worded prompt could have been used to actually write the boilerplate. Boilerplates in programming are actually a thing. You can copy/paste and edit as needed. No GPT needed! I actually like programming, and I'm regularly confused by folks who desperately want to not write code in their job as a coder. I could rant about this more, but there's not much else to say. These tools use way more electricity while slowing you down and producing shittier outputs. Cheers, Chris ​ Want to share this with others or read it later? View it in a browser.​ ​

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