Reading this article put me in mind of how everyone says "things aren't made like they used to be." Someone was just telling me this above a washing machine. I think we've seen that cheap and fast won and the lower quality became normal. I think it's fair to say that there is a fear software is heading the same way. AI is going to help people ship more, faster.
I think part of the answer is product management, which tends to get lost when the conversation is only about tools and code. Good product work isn't about how the software gets built. It's about helping a user do what they're trying to do better, faster or more enjoyably. The author's confidence-threshold example shows this well. "0.9 sounds about right" isn't really a technical decision. It's a product decision that nobody made on purpose.
For me, the real takeaway is that we will probably find a new balance of crappy, cheap software that people are willing to accept. However, I think that good, talented companies will still choose to ship good, high-quality products because it matters to them. The will not value simply shipping more, they will still be focused on achieving their goals.
BrkAway21 · · focus · HN ↗
I think part of the answer is product management, which tends to get lost when the conversation is only about tools and code. Good product work isn't about how the software gets built. It's about helping a user do what they're trying to do better, faster or more enjoyably. The author's confidence-threshold example shows this well. "0.9 sounds about right" isn't really a technical decision. It's a product decision that nobody made on purpose.
For me, the real takeaway is that we will probably find a new balance of crappy, cheap software that people are willing to accept. However, I think that good, talented companies will still choose to ship good, high-quality products because it matters to them. The will not value simply shipping more, they will still be focused on achieving their goals.