Software Developers Say AI Is Rotting Their Brains
fliptop writes:
On Reddit, Hacker News and other places where people in software development talk to each other [...] Developers talk not just about how the AI output is often flawed, but that using AI to get the job done is often a more time consuming, harder, and more frustrating experience because they have to go through the output and fix its mistakes. More concerning, developers who use AI at work report that they feel like they are de-skilling themselves and losing their ability to do their jobs as well as they used to [paywalled]:
"We're being told to use [AI] agents for broad changes across our codebase. There's no way to evaluate whether that much code is well-written or secure-especially when hundreds of other programmers in the company are doing the same," a UX designer at a midsized tech company told me. 404 Media granted all the developers we talked to for this story anonymity because they signed non-disclosure agreements or because they fear retribution from their employers. "We're building a rat's nest of tech debt that will be impossible to untangle when these models become prohibitively expensive (any minute now...)."
[...] Predictably, the huge spike in productivity that these companies claim their own AI products have enabled hasn't resulted in more or better products, shorter work weeks, or better consumer experiences. Mostly, AI implementation in tech companies has been used to justify multiple massive rounds of layoffs. To name just a few examples where tech companies said they reduced headcount because of AI use, more recently, Meta said it would cut 10 percent of its workforce (around 8,000 people), Microsoft said it would offer voluntary retirement to 7 percent of its American workforce (around 125,000 people). Snapchat said it would lay off 16 percent of its full-time staffers (about 1,000 people).
Previously:
- Meta to Cut More than 1,000 Jobs as its Shifts Focus to AI Wearables
- Microsoft Pushes Out Experienced American Talent to Fuel AI Ambitions
- AI Could Wipe Out Most White-Collar Jobs Within 12 Months, Microsoft AI Chief Warns
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