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Domain expertise has always been the real moat

brethorsting.com

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Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#71

Post by consumer451 »

azuanrb wrote: post #47

I recently reviewed an app built mostly with vibe coding. The owner said it was almost ready to launch and just needed a quick check. After looking through it, the database design was a mess. Some features worked, some didn’t. I explained the missing pieces and why things were breaking. Like OP said, he’s the domain expert. I used billions of tokens last month alone. The tools are getting better fast. But giving AI t…

> I used billions of tokens last month alone.

I use Claude Code (Opus 4.6 at max effort) all day long, and I genuinely don't understand how this is possible. Is that usage paying off?

This is very likely due to my lack of understanding, but... how?

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#72

Post by ikjasdlk2234 »

avaer wrote: post #70

There's a lot of people agreeing and disagreeing with the article, but on what grounds? How do you know "domain expertise" is a "moat"? Vibes? Has there been ongoing, persistent attacks by AI on domain expertise where we can say the moat holds, economically speaking? So far it seems quite the opposite. So far the evidence seems to be pointing to a different adage, Sutton's Bitter Lesson, which (generalized) says to n…

I'm in growth. When I hire in sales roles, I prioritize domain expertise.

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#73

Post by letitgo12345 »

consumer451 wrote: post #71
azuanrb wrote: post #47

I recently reviewed an app built mostly with vibe coding. The owner said it was almost ready to launch and just needed a quick check. After looking through it, the database design was a mess. Some features worked, some didn’t. I explained the missing pieces and why things were breaking. Like OP said, he’s the domain expert. I used billions of tokens last month alone. The tools are getting better fast. But giving AI t…

> I used billions of tokens last month alone. I use Claude Code (Opus 4.6 at max effort) all day long, and I genuinely don't understand how this is possible. Is that usage paying off? This is very likely due to my lack of understanding, but... how?

Long codex sessions lead to a lot of cached token hits, esp when you resume them after a few hours.

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#74

Post by doctorpangloss »

rayiner wrote: post #5

I bet there were textile workers who would have written articles like this if the internet had existed back then.

you're right, and i hate that the word you are looking for is "cope."

anthropic is making billions of dollars proving how little domain expertise matters.

the philosophical route towards understanding how little domain expertise matters would take paragraphs to write...

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#75

Post by bparsons »

What some people here are missing, is that domain experts or hobbyists are mostly vibe coding tools for themselves -- not as a SAAS product. They tend to work good enough to do the thing they want it to do. It runs locally or on some VPS, and is held together by string and duct tape.

The work product probably offends real software engineers in the way that a normal home cooked meal would offend a Michelin star chef. Yet, before last summer, these people never contemplated the ability to cook their own meals before. The fact that they can do this now is a very big deal.

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#76

Post by jongjong »

The problem with these kinds of discussions is that they act like experienced software engineers themselves don't bring domain expertise to software products.

So AI can easily replace the domain knowledge of software engineers but not of evey other profession?

Coding is not engineering but I'm glad that we will finally be able to prove that definitively thanks to AI. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Any software engineer who has built software to solve domain problems in multiple industries knows that the engineering domain knowledge and systems thinking approach is far more difficult to attain than industry-specific domain knowledge... This is why there are software consulting firms which can work across multiple domains. Understanding the problem domain is not that difficult.

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#77

Post by cautiouscat »

toastmaster11 wrote: post #62

How much pontificating needs to be done before people acknowledge nobody has any idea what to do with AI on an individual level? First being good developer and learning how to use AI was sufficient, next it was being able to design architecture, then it was “taste” that made all the difference and now being an expert in the domain is the only thing that matters really. Until AI is basically in a stable, predictable,…

Haven’t you heard? If you don’t adapt now you’ll be left behind, never to be able to work again! Copilot? That’s so last year. Agentic engineering? You’re already late!

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#78

Post by abhaynayar »

toastmaster11 wrote: post #62

How much pontificating needs to be done before people acknowledge nobody has any idea what to do with AI on an individual level? First being good developer and learning how to use AI was sufficient, next it was being able to design architecture, then it was “taste” that made all the difference and now being an expert in the domain is the only thing that matters really. Until AI is basically in a stable, predictable,…

Several things can be true at once.

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#79

Post by [deleted] »

toastmaster11 wrote: post #62

How much pontificating needs to be done before people acknowledge nobody has any idea what to do with AI on an individual level? First being good developer and learning how to use AI was sufficient, next it was being able to design architecture, then it was “taste” that made all the difference and now being an expert in the domain is the only thing that matters really. Until AI is basically in a stable, predictable,…

[deleted]

Re: Domain expertise has always been the real moat

#80

Post by mrexroad »

cautiouscat wrote: post #77
toastmaster11 wrote: post #62

How much pontificating needs to be done before people acknowledge nobody has any idea what to do with AI on an individual level? First being good developer and learning how to use AI was sufficient, next it was being able to design architecture, then it was “taste” that made all the difference and now being an expert in the domain is the only thing that matters really. Until AI is basically in a stable, predictable,…

Haven’t you heard? If you don’t adapt now you’ll be left behind, never to be able to work again! Copilot? That’s so last year. Agentic engineering? You’re already late!

Do you have a link to your paid content that will put me ahead of the curve so my career will be bulletproof? /s
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