7 hours ago
- The author loves writing software by hand but acknowledges that AI is irreversibly transforming programming, making manual coding no longer sensible for most projects.
- In 2020, the author left their job to write a novel about AI and universal basic income, and opened a YouTube channel on AI in 2024, recognizing early the shift in programming.
- Recent LLMs can complete large subtasks and medium projects alone with minimal guidance, as demonstrated by the author's examples: modding linenoise, fixing Redis tests, creating a BERT library in C, and reproducing Redis Streams changes.
- Writing code is no longer the primary need; understanding what to do and how to communicate it to LLMs is more important.
- The author feels positive about contributing to AI training data, viewing it as democratizing code and systems, similar to open source in the 1990s.
- Concerns include centralization of AI in a few companies, but open models (especially from China) compete, offering some democratization.
- The author plans to write more open source code and apply AI to Redis workflow, but worries about job losses and suggests voting for governments that support those displaced.
- Advice to programmers: embrace AI, test it thoroughly over weeks, and find ways to multiply yourself, as the fun of building remains.
- The author believes innovation cannot be taken back, and while AI brings risks, it also promises scientific progress that could reduce human suffering.