Claude is not your architect. Stop letting it pretend

The apple dictionary says the word means "prepared to obey others unquestioningly."

I don't think an inanimate object is capable of "obeying." Or at least that is a very strange way to refer to the act of using a tool.

This should be the first comment. I wrote some criticism, mostly because many internal contradictions in the article. Then, I notice the structure...

"The accountability gap" Here’s the question nobody’s asking: when it goes wrong, who carries the bag? (..)

"What to do instead"

"The craft still matters"

>And it does get people into a lot of trouble.

Pretty much everyone takes it at face value unless we know otherwise from prior experience. Even the most advanced models make embarrassing mistakes and fumble with simple tasks. Yet we are very willing to give them exceptional slack for it? I wish I knew why. Are people just that easily overcome by confident voices?

I've found this surprisingly effective. Higher "thinking levels" may result in more than one approach being considered, but you can also tell your LLM to do brainstorming explicitly: https://photostructure.com/coding/claude-code-replan/

As I keep saying, the problem isn't the tools - it's the humans who don't know what they don't know ----- and assume that what they don't know is insignificant ----- and just plow forward with their authority and/or money.

We can describe this without talking about technology - so pre-AI.

Imagine the owner of a construction company firing all the architects. After all, he's been the owner for 15 years. He has led the construction of dozens of projects. He's also rich, and being rich seems to be an ego-multiplier.

Why should he waste money on architects? Or more importantly, why should he allow them to constantly annoy him with pushbacks: "This could be a problem if the sustained wind is greater than ... ".

Those engineers obviously don't know the real world. Their elitist education has made them afraid to make bold decisions. Regulations are anti-progress!

Thankfully, that owner now has AI tools. He doesn't need those not-always-yes-people. He now has a perpetual yes-bot.

So where are we now? We're in the same place we always have been. People need to have the humility to recognize that despite their authority, influence, or wealth, they still need other people. And especially, they need other people to challenge their orders or their requests.

But I don't really see this situation self-correcting. There's now so much money concentrated amongst a few who will spray it over exactly the kind of people who do not want to listen to others that most activity in the future will be for naught. Yes, some unicorns will be fabricated, and some people will make a lot of money; but real value will not be created often.

Therefore, I implore the actual thoughtful creators: Do build things, but do not sell out. Look to the past. Create companies where every employee was valued, and every employee had some voice. Yes, use AI. But test and measure where it really helps. And be skeptical, just as you would if someone came to your door promising a black box that would double your profits.