Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 209 posts

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#61

Post by jansan »

scubadude wrote: post #44
827a wrote: post #15

Its a nice productivity and capability boost that feels on the same magnitude as, for example, React. The "dream" of it being able to just take tickets and agentically get a PR up for review is possible for ~5% of tickets. That goes up to ~10% if your organization has no standards at all, including even a self-serving standard like "at least make sure the repository remains useful to future AI usage". My organization…

> Stack Overflow has to be actually dead at this point. There's no reason to go there, or even Google, anymore. If, like the meme, you just copied from SO without using your brain then yes AI is comparable. If you appreciate SO for the discussion (peer review) about the answers and contrasting approaches sometimes out of left field, well good luck because AI can't and won't give you that.

There is some very deep knowledge in SO's comments and some lower rated replies. But I suspect that is not what was making Stackoverflow so popular.

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#62

Post by bluefirebrand »

exfalso wrote: post #38

Mostly feeling like a caveman. I've been trying and failing to use it productively since the start of the hype. The amount of time wasted could've been used for actual development. I just simply don't get it. Productivity delta is literally negative. I've been asking to do projects where I thought "oh, maybe this project has a chance of getting an AI productivity boost". Nope. Personal projects all failed as well. I…

No, you're not alone

I find it wastes my time more than it helps

Everyone insists I must be using it wrong

I was never arrogant enough to think I'm a superior coder to many people, but AI code is so bad and the experience using it is so tedious that I'm starting to seriously question the skills of anyone who finds themselves more productive using AI for code instead of writing it themselves

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#63

Post by jansan »

lsb wrote: post #14

I used Claude Code to navigate a legacy codebase the other day, and having the ability to ask "how many of these files have helper methods that are duplicated or almost but not quite exactly duplicated?" was very much a superpower.

Just like refactoring tools felt like a superpower, if you were already around at that time (early 2000s).

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#64

Post by jansan »

jraph wrote: post #24

Patiently looking forward for the HN front page to be about something else than generative AI.

I found it amusing when a few days ago the front page was littered with ChatGPT 5 news, and then suddenly, when reactions turned negative, these news entirely disappeared.

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#65

Post by sublinear »

Only the most toxic workplaces are still pushing for this since several years ago.

AI is an irrelevant implementation detail, and if the pace of your work is not determined by business needs but rather how quickly you can crank out code, you should probably quit and find a real job somewhere better that isn't run by morons.

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#66

Post by moltar »

ai_assisted_dev wrote: post #52

I have been in software for 20 years, and was just about to quit 2-3 years ago because of how mundane things became. And now I am actually loving it again because of AI. I'd say, AI writes 95% of my code, and I use it for 75% of the decisions during working on a project. I am under MUCH more pressure to deliver more in shorter periods of time, with just me involved in several layers of decision making, rather than ha…

I was thinking of doing something similar. I think I’m well positioned for this as I have a natural ability to juggle many contexts, I used to run a software agency, and I’m pretty good at architecture early on which means solutions come out more robust and flexible. I have had really good experience with AI tools and I’m constantly evolving my workflows.

I’m wondering how did you land your current gigs?

Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#67

Post by greatwhitenorth »

In my last company, they've fired all the employees except the CEO. He has a neuralink chip embedded in his brain and vibe codes all day through his brain waves. He even vibe codes during his sleep.

All companies will end up with just one employee. If you don't agree with this, you don't know how to prompt.

Re: Ask HN: With all the AI hype, how are software engineers feeling?

#68

Post by jgb1984 »

I'm not using AI for anything. I read and write my own emails, make my own slides, write my own python code using vim, debian, openbox, bash and tmux, just as I have been for almost 20 years. I don't even use an LSP or autocompletion! Hell, I even read actual books, on paper!

And yes, I did test ChatGPT, claude, cursor, aider... They produce subpar code, riddled with subtle and not so subtle bugs, each of my attempts turned out to be a massive waste of time.

LLM is a plague and I wish it had never showed up, the negative effects on so many aspects of the world are numerous and saddening.

Post reply on HN