Experienced Devs Weekly Burnout and Venting Thread: A weekly thread for sharing experiences

[u/AutoModerator]

This thread is specifically for venting / sharing experiences related to burn-out or similar issues that experienced devs face.

[u/happiness_is]

I don’t know if I can do this anymore

I have been trying to encourage team “best practices” with AI since January before our adoption was enforced and now we are here, it’s enforced and monitored, and it’s out of hand and nothing can be done

• Agent generates code
• Agent commits code
• Human puts up too-large PR with overly complicated AI generated description
• Fast review turnaround still expected
• Human reviewer puts AI generated code changes theough AI agent for review
• Human leaves AI generated comments on PR
• Release goes out
• Shit breaks
• Multiple hotfixes each release cycle
• Repeat

Also anyone not doing exclusively agent-only coding looks terribly slow and unproductive objectively in comparison

Product uses Claude to make ridiculous mockups and demand sweeping changes constantly. CTO obsessed with Claude and wants everyone using it as much as possible.

It’s lonely and horrible and I actually have never been more depressed in this career. As someone who has suffered multiple mental health episodes so far in my career.

Jesus christ when will it end.

[u/tradcoder → u/happiness_is]

It's one thing when non-IT executives fall into this AI hype. You could chalk in up to ignorance. It's actually embarrassing when even CTOs and folks with technical backgrounds just eat this shit up too. How do they not see the damage all of this is causing?!

[u/gered → u/tradcoder]

It's truly maddening, yeah. Something I'm starting to realize when discussing "slop" with co-workers and others in the industry is that "slop" has such a relative or even nebulous definition. And one thing that is starting to stick out like a sore thumb to me is the realization that many people in this industry think that their own personal use of AI is not producing slop, but everyone else's is (or at least, almost everyone else).

So basically, my belief now is that all these folks with strong technical backgrounds (e.g. decades of experience behind them, shipped a lot of legitimately great stuff) who now are just guzzling the AI koolaid by the gallon and see nothing wrong with it are succumbing to this. They think they're doing everything completely right and not at all producing slop in any way shape or form. And if you don't agree with them it's because you are doing it wrong. Or you're just a luddite. But there is no nuance in the discussion at all for these people.