This post by Paul Ford covers so many aspects of AI coding. From job loss, devaluing the skills of humans, to recognizing the sheer wonder of what these supercomputers can accomplish. I find a twinge of hope in that we can use this this to solve problems that previously went unsolved:

I think of the friend at an immigration nonprofit who needs to click countless times, in mounting frustration, to generate critical reports. Or the small-business owners trying to operate everything with email and losing orders as a result. Or my doctor, whose time with patients is eaten up by having to tap furiously into the hospital’s electronic health record system.

After decades of stories like those, I believe there are millions, maybe billions, of software products that don’t exist but should: Dashboards, reports, apps, project trackers and countless others. People want these things to do their jobs, or to help others, but they can’t find the budget. They make do with spreadsheets and to-do lists.

One aspect not touched on in this article but is incredibly important, and one that so many people (myself included) have neglected to keep in mind recently: the foundation, the very core, of this technology is theft. Every line of code, every word, and every image used to train these models — and ultimately create a new class of billionaires with ultra concentrated wealth and power — were made by people. The creative and life fulfilling work of humans.

Unfortunately no one at the top cares about ethics and it’s impossible to think about how we could ever put the toothpaste back in the tube. I can only hope:

  • These AI companies realize they need to look out for the communities where they are building data centers to make their use of resources sustainable.
  • They also need to invest heavily to secure their own sources of computing components (ex. RAM) without fucking up all other industries.
  • I also desperately hope we can get our act together to establish regulations and protect workers. Profit-hungry execs continue slashing jobs left and right.

There are many issues with AI but it’s hard to not be interested by all this. It’s an insane time to be alive and I have no idea what’s going to happen in the next five years let alone 10.

Despite my serious qualms with everything, I must admit I gave the jackals $20 last month to build a few apps with Claude Code. One app aims to help people in my community connect in-person and so that’s one way I justify using these services.

(I also have issues with the oil industry and what they’re doing to our planet but I also occasionally drive nearly 200 miles to see my parents. This shit’s messy and no one is perfect.)