Devs Need AI Training

1 points by eibrahim 104 days ago | 11 comments

I have been running my business for years and haven’t worked on a client team/project for a while. It blew my mind how badly devs are with AI tools after joining a relatively big team in a company that is heavily invested in AI-first. It’s not a software company or even a tech company.

One example is we were in a meeting with 4 devs debating and implementation of a feature. I kept quiet but I didn’t want to over promise but the general consensus was that it would take 2 to 4 weeks to implement said feature. I finished it 1.5 hour after the meeting and sent the client a video demo. He was blown away and couldn’t believe how fast I did it.

I told him it was all AI and gave him all the warnings that it’s a POC and needs testing blah blah.

So how the heck did 3 other devs think it was going to take 4 weeks??? I know they all use the same tools I use. Is it experience? Do they not know how to use the tools right? Do they need training?

PS: sorry for any typos. Wrote on my phone while half awake

chrisjj 104 days ago |

> I finished it 1.5 hour after the meeting and sent the client a video demo. He was blown away and couldn’t believe how fast I did it.

He probably mistook it for a job done properly.

> So how the heck did 3 other devs think it was going to take 4 weeks???

They probably budgetted for a job done properly.

eibrahim 104 days ago | |

I understand your skepticism but their estimate was for a POC not a fully blown implemented feature. What I gave them was a POC with TONS of warnings that this was AI generated and vibe coded and not tested and not reviewed etc etc. they understood but loved the fact that they have something “working” that they can show off to higher ups. I was very very clear about the fact that it was very rough and not production ready - after all it was less than 2 hours of work.

chrisjj 104 days ago | | |

I suspect the clue is in the "P". If developers didn't generally have a higher standard of Proof than non-developers, they'd soon be... non-developers.

> loved the fact that they have something “working” that they can show off to higher ups.

Ah. The higher it goes, the less it needs proof.

And the more it "forgets" those scare quotes.

gus_massa 104 days ago |

> I told him it was all AI and gave him all the warnings that it’s a POC and needs testing blah blah.

A long time ago, I read that for POC it was a good idea to use crappy icons and images. Otherwise the client think it's already done because the buttons and icons are in the screen. How hard could it be to implement the backend?

Does the new feature need a "undo" button? Is it implemented?

Credit card? Deduplication if the user hits the button twice?

eibrahim 104 days ago | |

I guess i can tell AI to make it look a bit shitty lol

gus_massa 103 days ago | | |

I found it. It's an old post by Joel Spolsky "The Iceberg Secret, Revealed" https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2002/02/13/the-iceberg-secret... It was posted a few times in HN but it never got traction.

okokwhatever 104 days ago |

You just produced a layoff my friend. And after the sarcasm we all could agree this is gonna be happening everywhere in a matter of months and we will be horrified by the lack of empathy and the industry situation and blablabla but at the end this story is the representation of a truth, not many of us will end our working life in this industry. It's over, take it or leave it.

eibrahim 104 days ago | |

Agreed. The devs that don’t see the writing on the wall are going to be very disappointed. They are the ones screaming “AI slop” on every post on the internet. It’s the farmer that once said “tractors and machines will never replace me” only to be unemployed and bitter a few months/years later.

If we don’t adapt, we will not survive. I know this is a hard pill to swallow because we all thought we were set for life with job security and high paying jobs forever. This is changing fast or maybe already changed.

Lots of uncertainty and no one knows how this will pan out. The optimist in me thinks/hopes that new doors will open shrug

brudgers 104 days ago |

the general consensus was that it would take 2 to 4 weeks to implement said feature. I finished it 1.5 hour after the meeting and sent the client a video demo. He was blown away and couldn’t believe how fast I did it.

The client was willing to pay for three weeks of work. Hopefully you charged them accordingly.

eibrahim 104 days ago | |

I wish.

brudgers 103 days ago | | |

For what it is worth, when I client wants you to help them save money, saving money on your fee is not within that scope.