serverless is amazing.
you get:
- cold starts
- 14 dashboards
- functions timing out because JSON was 3kb too large
- logs delivered sometime between now and your retirement
- a billing model based on quantum mechanics
all to avoid managing a VPS that has had a working tutorial since 2009
For 50 years, software engineering ran on code rationing. Writing code was expensive, so we rationed it carefully through roadmaps, RFCs, prioritization meetings, and scope reviews.
This created a role: the No Engineer. No, that won't scale. No, we don't have bandwidth. No, that's out of scope. No, we need a design doc first. The No Engineer was valuable for 50 years. Every "no" saved real money. Their judgment was the rationing system.
LLMs will be the end of code rationing. Code is cheap now. And while the No Engineer is explaining why something can't be done, the Yes Engineer has already shipped three versions of it.
If you're a Yes Engineer, the next decade is yours.
Software engineering is the only field where you can build systems used by millions
and still get rejected because you forgot the time complexity of bubble sort
The idea of "one shotting" an app using AI is a fugazi.
If you had to describe my app and all the edge cases I have solved over the years, it would be a prompt the size of a small book, and my app isn't even that complicated.
The people promoting creating a business overnight with AI are just selling a get rich quick pipedream. Those grifters are present in every cycle.
AI has completely transformed how I work, but you can't push a button and make money. Doesn't work like that.
figma was never the hard part. thinking claude code's design mode removes the need for figma is stupid. all the same rage bait as lovable saying they were replacing figma.
design is taste. it is knowing the story you want to tell. its knowing when to surprise. it is knowing what to keep and what to remove.
shipping is now universally accessible. design won't ever be.
Prediction:
The next 12-24 months, "UX-pilled" builders will be in massive demand.
Who can create intuitive interfaces, web+mobile+desktop apps that "feel good," natural, fast, and far better than the competition.
THIS will be the difference vs those building "just" with AI.
vibe coding is officially dead
I had to say it. we thought AI would let us relax and code "on chill", but instead it turned us into architectural bureaucrats. we write strict laws, define rules, limits, and principles.
if you don't obsessively review the code agent writes, your project will mutate into a massive landfill of tech debt within a month.
Stop versioning code.
Start versioning intent.
When AI agents generate thousands of lines at once, git diffs become unreadable and commits meaningless.
The real source of truth is what you wanted, not what was produced.
Design your AI workflows so the intent (the prompt, spec, or goal) is the artifact you track and refine.
It's important to note that Anthropic still doesn't have multi-modal capabilities.
They are not working towards AGI.
Their models don't generate images, audio, or video. They are fighting on different fronts than OpenAI, Google, and xAI.
They are eating coding (coders) and enterprise (knowledge work) one vertical, one use case, at a time.
They started with coding, then excel, then banking, then legal, then security, then HR, and more will come soon.
No one is releasing products by vertical at this speed.
They are playing a different game than the rest of the pack.