The Two AI Consensuses

Being a software engineer these days is weird. We used to think that we were the stars of the global economy, impossible to hire without crazy perks and ridiculous packages, but then the Zero Interest Rate Period ended and we realized it was all a mirage bought with cheap money. Now, everyone from high school […]

Tools and Agents

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague after my last post, about whether it was possible to get the best of both worlds, or if any new tool would necessarily make you dumber. And I had to stop and think – what was it about an IDE with autocomplete that seemed unobjectionable, while LLM-based […]

Building a Dumber Team

Having kids is weird. Here are these human beings, with their own interests, likes and dislikes, and absolutely no knowledge. I mean yes, over time they build up experiences, but they start out with literally nothing. You have to teach them how to go to the bathroom, how to use a knife and fork, how […]

The Restaurant Reviewer

When a new person joins my team, I like to have everyone go around and share some unusual fact about themselves. It’s a good ice breaker – everyone usually tries to think of something interesting, and I’ve had people who were bus drivers, sky divers, and in one memorable case, someone who’d eaten something he absolutely […]