Thread

1. GPerson · 1785995308 · focus · HN ↗

   Programming is nice because you have lots of different scales of structure to think about, and your program slowly comes together. You see it improving over time as a result of your efforts. You also build your skills and learn. It’s really a nice activity.

   AI systems basically change that whole formula. I’m not sure how people get joy out of constantly vibe coding new projects. It feels like binge watching Netflix shows. I feel like there’s no material value in my 50th vibecoded demo since everyone in this world can vibecode now. Sure I’ve got my custom todo app which is nice, and my custom game plug-in with some neat features for the game I like, and a few other custom apps. Those are mildly useful to me. But every second I spend vibe coding something that’s supposed to be a success for others is just invaded by the thought that even if this thing is any good, someone with real capital can just direct a future AI at it to take it from me, so I’m not really gaining.

   So I think I’ll just stick to using AI occasionally, without letting it ruin the programming activity I love by spoiling it. Due solely to AI, I don’t expect I’ll ever do anything in my life which will impact another person. That’s a personal tragedy, but in a sense I was going to die anyways and so will everyone else, so it doesn’t really matter.

   1. vidarh · 1786007123 · focus · HN ↗

      > I’m not sure how people get joy out of constantly vibe coding new projects. It feels like binge watching Netflix shows.

      I get joy out of it because it solves actual problems I have that I don't have time to solve manually, or don't want to. E.g. I just recently had Codex add a mechanism for two-level virtual desktops because I wanted groups of them. An hour later I had two-level virtual desktops in my wm that worked exactly how I wanted it, with support for it in my desktop switcher. I could write it myself, but why would I? I love writing code for various projects, but sometimes I just want the outcome.

      1. GPerson · 1786019225 · focus · HN ↗

         For me that’s a slippery slope. It’s not really clear what parts of my hobby project are the good parts and what parts are unfulfilling. When I start including AI too much I end up feeling that none of it is fulfilling. When I do things manually I feel pride in the details however, even though those same details on another day would make me feel like I’m wasting my precious life.

         I spent 2 months having Opus build a demo for a project I dreamt of for 15 years, but somehow now I can’t feel interested in it. I’m trying to avoid this. A good use case for me has been using AI to help me acquire all primary source documentation on a topic and then prepare a curated sequence of study based on a small demo I’d like to build.

         Keep in mind I’m talking about how I’m approaching creative programming in my personal free time.

         1. vidarh · 1786025805 · focus · HN ↗

            To me it's very easy: If I want to do a change by hand for the joy of doing that, I do. But if I want a piece of functionality now and don't want to set aside time to build it, I let an agent do it.

            It boils down to whether I dream about the outcome or how to do it.

            E.g. I have no emotional attachment to my window manager - I wrote it (by hand, originally) because I wanted a specific set of functionality, not because I particularly wanted the experience of writing one.

            I've recently made lots of changes to it with Opus because I wanted another set of functionality and was elated not to have to spend time doing it manually because what I wanted was the functionality.

            I'm now a very happy user of a better window manager than I was before.

            Conversely, I have dozens of projects I stay closer to, because I care about the code and don't particularly care if that means I might have to wait for years to get to something usable, if ever.

            1. GPerson · 1786026879 · focus · HN ↗

               I think there’s a lot of need for people to help others understand how to healthily engage with this technology. I do struggle with turning it off once I get started on it.

               I also believe I see the future coming very fast. I’ve been addicted to watching television for weeks on end or playing games for months on end. I don’t want to fall into something like that again. The vibe coding thing feels exactly like that to me.

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