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How I keep up with AI progress

(blog.nilenso.com)
264 points itzlambda | 4 comments | 18 Jul 25 18:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.633s | source
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n8cpdx ◴[18 Jul 25 19:38 UTC] No.44608934[source]▶
Article does not make the case for why you must keep up.

AFAICT the best strategy would have been to completely tune out AI for the last ~3 years:

- AI has not meaningfully improved productivity (unless you’re doing something super basic like react and were already bad at it). If you are using AI in a transformative way, that looks different today than it did 6 months ago. - AI has not stolen jobs (end of ZIRP did that) - The field changes so fast that you could completely tune out, and at any moment become up-to-date because the news from 3 months ago is irrelevant.

I don’t get where this meme that “you have to keep up” comes from.

You have agency. You can get off the treadmill. You will be fine.

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bluefirebrand ◴[18 Jul 25 19:53 UTC] No.44609074[source]▶
I have been tuning out for the last ~3 years and unfortunately it hasn't been the best strategy because the hype is still running roughshod all over me

It is very likely my employer will use my AI apathy as an excuse to include me in the next round of layoffs, compared to my coworkers that are very AI enthusiastic

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1. scellus ◴[18 Jul 25 20:08 UTC] No.44609217[source]▶
Maybe that would even be justified, if you are a software developer? If not now, at least soon.

Imagine a software developer who refuses to use IDEs, or any kind of editor beyond sed, or version control, or some other essential tool. AI is soon similar, except in rare niche cases.

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2. sshine ◴[18 Jul 25 20:13 UTC] No.44609285[source]▶
I've met many people smarter than myself who object to all of those.

One professor thought syntax highlighting was a distraction.

Lots of colleagues used vim/helix instead of IDEs.

I haven't met anyone who refused version control from an intelligent standpoint.

The most reasonable objection to AI from people who don't hate it are:

  I just don't know how it could help me; it's not as skilled as me at my job, and I'm already doing fine.
3. hagbarth ◴[18 Jul 25 20:18 UTC] No.44609335[source]▶
Version control is different since it’s collaboration with the rest of the org.

The rest: if they are just as productive as others, I would not care one bit. Tool use as a metric is just bad.

4. ◴[18 Jul 25 22:19 UTC] No.44610408[source]▶