THE_NEW_RULES

Choosing Over Coding: The End of Craftsmanship?

Chapter 1: The 10-Second Integration

"When AI can generate any boilerplate in seconds, the skill shifts from writing code to choosing which code to generate. We've gone from craftsmen to curators."

The book celebrates this shift as liberation. But are we witnessing the death of software craftsmanship? When everyone can generate the same code instantly, what differentiates a senior developer from a junior one?

Questions for Debate:

The Commoditization of Code

  • If implementation is free, what actually has value anymore?
  • Are we all just becoming prompt engineers with different titles?
  • When AI can write better code than 80% of developers, what happens to those developers?

The Curator's Dilemma

  • How do you evaluate code quality when you didn't write it?
  • Can you truly "choose" between options you don't fully understand?
  • Is curation without creation a sustainable skill?

The Expertise Erosion

  • How do you become a senior developer if you never write junior-level code?
  • What happens when the AI is trained on code written by developers who also used AI?
  • Are we creating a recursive loop of declining code quality?

Share Your Experience:

The Curation Champions:

  • How has shifting from coding to choosing improved your output?
  • What new skills have become valuable that weren't before?
  • Can you share an example where choosing the right generated code was harder than writing it yourself?

The Craft Guardians:

  • What essential skills are being lost in the shift to AI-generated code?
  • How do you maintain coding skills when AI does the implementation?
  • What's something you can do as a developer that AI curation can't replace?

The Identity Crisis:

This shift challenges the core identity of developers:

  • If we're not writing code, are we still developers?
  • Does the ability to recognize good code replace the ability to write it?
  • Is the emotional satisfaction of crafting elegant solutions just nostalgia?

The Generational Divide:

For Developers Who Started Before AI:

  • Do you feel your deep implementation knowledge is becoming obsolete?
  • How are you adapting your skills for the curation age?

For Developers Who Started With AI:

  • Do you feel you're missing fundamental skills?
  • How do you build expertise when the AI does the building?

Is software development still a craft, or has it become selection and assembly?

Loading comments...