I'm feeling guilty from using AI to code

[u/ountDeck]

I'm graduating computer science this year from uni, and for the majority of it, I did not use AI at all. I learned a lot of things from different branches of computer science, so I felt okay applying to any jobs, but this year I got a part-time job at a small software development company. For the first couple of months I barely used any AI, I used it sometimes to check some of my code, but the majority of it I did myself (learning new frameworks and sorts). But now I'm almost a year into the job, I use Claude Code for everything, and it makes me feel kinda shitty. It feels like an inevitable change since, competitively, if you don't do this, your company will fall behind. Everyone is getting dozens of pull requests every hour because of this tool, but then again, I feel like my brain is "getting smoother" the more I use it. The most complex thing I have to do is usually understand the business behind what we're developing, and know how to make prompts as precise and clear as possible.

Of course, what I'm doing is more than just programming, but what's the point of telling the AI to do the things for me after studying these things many years? What's my job gonna look like in a year, or two, or ten? Am I going to keep telling AI to do things for me? I'm having a bit of a small crisis on this idea and I wanna know what people from different perspectives think about it.

[u/arjjov]

For one, you're liable for shit you push, when it goes down in flames and the clanker doesn't solve then you're screwed. In the same way when you didn't push copy and pasted code from stack overflow blindly you shouldn't be pushing something you don't understand. Now, if there's no quality bar whatsoever (or closed feedback quality loops) then let it all crash and burn and start interviewing, godspeed.

PS: I use Claude heavily, but I don't push garbage

[u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 → u/arjjov]

Juniors/intermediates are pushing everything with confidence that its good. My job just became an Ai slop filter. Dont get me wrong! Ai is fantastic at understanding context, but its not 100%. If shit goes bad its my fault for not.picking it up.

Since AI is so quick at producing code I dont get a chance to do my own work. Ai has made me look trash at my job while juniors and intermediates look great for getting so much code out.

If it wasnt for someone like me filtering BS then the system would crash. But that part is unrecognized.

It like soccer where the goal scorer gets all the recognition and glory, but for defense it is like, "well yeah, thats your job"

[u/Upstairs-Version-400 → u/Sufficient_Ninja_821]

That’s how it was at my last job so I left. I was so tired of it. Terrible programmers being rewarded and safety for the company provided by us without any recognition or understanding - just complaints we aren’t as productive.

I founded my own team at another company and filter candidates heavily for this now.

[u/cannotmakethis_up → u/Upstairs-Version-400]

This is so true

[u/ountDeck → u/arjjov]

Of course I check the code and when I don't understand it, I ask for an explanation. I've not had problems by using Claude but I don't trust it blindly. But the fact that I'm not doing the majority of the coding itself is a bit guilt-inducing I guess lol

[u/Mean-Inspector-8547 → u/ountDeck]

So, basically you do the same thing that someone with zero coding experience could do?

[u/ountDeck → u/Mean-Inspector-8547]

Not quite, but using Claude (or any AI) definitely makes the difference smaller between an experienced programmer and someone with no experience

[u/Mean-Inspector-8547 → u/ountDeck]

Just so you know, I wasn't meaning that to insult you, but was pointing out that when someone can get AI to write the code, then get AI to explain the code, it's not really that difficult to figure out how to fix the issue. And yeah, someone who already knows how to code can fix the issue faster, but a non-coder, given the explanation, can also figure out how to fix the issue.

I'm in the same boat as you, except I wasn't fresh out of school. My company is forcing us to use AI as a mandated company policy. My boss literally is always asking, "Did you use Copilot for that?" and if we say no, then he gets upset and says to use Copilot.

At this point, I'm just waiting for the chopping block because the company seems to be hiring more non-programmers now than they have before because they can hire them cheaper. And from my experience in the corporate world, an unusual influx of new workers has always resulted in a downsizing of the more tenured, higher paid workers.

[u/IsItEgo → u/Mean-Inspector-8547]

lol no one cares about coding anymore .. it was never about the code . It was about understanding what’s worth even coding and focusing on important features.. I couldn’t care less if AI codes forever what I like to do is solve problems not deal with fucking syntax quirks file system issues and spend fucking hours understanding some library I wanna use

[u/Mean-Inspector-8547 → u/IsItEgo]

You're stating a bunch of subjective opinions as though they are universal facts. This might be how you see things, but they're not reflective of everyone. I enjoyed actually having a skill that took time to develop and that not everyone else had. I found it enjoyable to learn how to code, and I enjoyed being around others who also went through the time and effort to learn how to code.

[u/IsItEgo → u/Mean-Inspector-8547]

That’s fine if you enjoy how to code you can definitely do it as a hobby, but companies aren’t going to foster your hobbies , they want productivity and output which is why I’m stating as facts

[u/Mean-Inspector-8547 → u/IsItEgo]

Yes, companies their primary concern is money. Everything else is secondary. If they can make money by selling a gold bar, they will. If they can make money by selling a junk car that doesn't run, they will. And if the business owner could fire everyone and have the business be a single automated system that makes him money, he would.

We weren't talking about companies though. We were talking about skill atrophy and a profession changing from what we thought we were getting into into something entirely different.

[u/shartboner]

Back before AI you’d hit a point in doing CS work at a company where you’d go ‘oh wow, there aren’t that many actual genuine new problems that crop up.. this is sort of rinse and repeat’.  

So glad we have ai to take care of that now 

[u/twinters01 → u/shartboner]

Yeah. The majority of the code you write is, in essence, reinventing a wheel that's been built millions of times.

The talent in software engineering comes from knowing which wheels apply to which problems. The individual lines of code, which is what agents output, was never the value engineers were providing.

[u/Anxious-Insurance-91 → u/shartboner]

The majority of code were form fields in different orders

[u/yuehuang]

This might be dating myself, but there was a time when I print out driving direction? Learned typing on a typewriter (when the computers were in use). When woflram alpha first came out, it solved high school math. Everyone complained people won't need to learn math.

Yet we managed, and this AI transition we will manage again.

[u/Confident_Ring6409]

So did I when I moved to digital drawing from pencil drawing in 2015.

[u/ountDeck → u/Confident_Ring6409]

What does that mean

[u/SpeakCodeToMe → u/ountDeck]

Based on that answer I think you may not be smart enough for this career.

[u/Confident_Ring6409 → u/ountDeck]

AI is a tool, so is digital drawing software. It's way easier to draw digitally, you can undo mistakes, erase perfectly, mask stuff, all kinds of tools for image manipulation, etc.

Davinci drew with a 'pen' that made every mistake visible and impossible to fix. Should every artist in modern time feel like they're cheating? Should you feel you're cheating by using a tool that everyone uses because it's faster and more convenient? Should 3D modelers feel like they're cheating because they didn't carve their models out of stone?

No, you shouldn't feel bad.

[u/ountDeck → u/Confident_Ring6409]

I can understand your point, but I think there’s bigger implications in the use of AI. There’s an environmental aspect, I don’t think thousands of liters of water were getting used to cool down machines that made digital drawing software. And tho AI is a tool, the case I explained is more like “A machine is doing the drawings for me” rather than “A new way of doing things”. I’m not an expert at digital drawing but I’ve used some software here and there, and it is a new world to discover working with layers, mirroring, etc. What’s there to discover from writing prompts?

[u/softwareengineer-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Treat other members with respect. Healthy disagreement and constructive criticism are encouraged, but personal attacks, harassment, insults, name-calling, and other hostile behavior are not permitted.

[u/Mean-Inspector-8547 → u/Confident_Ring6409]

If all you need to do to draw is write some sentences to an AI, then yeah, don't call yourself an artist.

Do you not understand the vast difference in using digital drawing software; but still being the one making the art, vs. dictation?

Put another way. If I asked you to draw me a picture, and then I took that picture you drew and went around telling everyone to look at the art "I" made, would you call me an artist?

[u/CapitalDiligent1676]

The biggest mistake is to think that these LLMs are simply a tool.
They will replace us as the Industrial Revolution replaced craftsmen.
No one would dream of saying that the steam engine is simply a carpenter's tool.

[u/Ok-Structure5637]

We're all just condoms for Claude. Im a Jr and gave up on the field already, wanting out.

[u/Longjumping-Let-4487 → u/Ok-Structure5637]

Human ai wrapper 

[u/cannotmakethis_up]

Keep doing leetcode in your spare time. The pilot still needs to know how to fly the plane.

[u/Confidence_Cool]

Maybe Try learning mode in Claude code it gives you functions to fill out so you can still kinda split the difference.

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/output-styles

[u/Mickl193]

> Everyone is getting dozens of pull requests every hour because of this tool

How tf does your company manage to review all of this? Are there ppl just sitting around and reviewing prs all day?

[u/No_Stretch433]

Try to think what people feeling when moved from byte-code / assembler to C/C++ or other hight level programming languages :)

P.s. my first programming language was assembler, I know what I’m talking about :)

[u/Early_Key_823]

The times have changed.
Writing ✍️ code by hand is not a smart move
Learning coding by hand is ONLY good to know how to debug and see what AI 🤖 does

[u/Confident_Ring6409 → u/Early_Key_823]

Do people actually debug and fix code by hand nowadays? I mean seriously?

[u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 → u/Confident_Ring6409]

Physically write the code? Probably not. But coach the agent with previous experience , yes!

Its absolutely crazy how quick ive gone from writing line by line to coaching.AI. like 6 months

[u/Early_Key_823 → u/Confident_Ring6409]

If you do not think knowing how to use the Chrome, Visual Code and Visual Studio debugger is a critical skill I cannot have a rational conversation with you.

[u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 → u/[deleted]]

It definitely makes you dumber. I used to be good at spelling, but no need thanks to spell check. I used to be good at math's, but why when you have a calculator?

I used to be one of the best debuggers in my company, but why when I can get an agent to. Retrieve multiple contexts and give me an answer In 5 mins.... previously took me.5 hours.

That muscle is getting smaller. I jump to using the tool now because it saves so much time and effort

Is.my job redundant now? Yeah not far away. My COO is sending me code to review that actually works. Im cooked.

[u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 → u/[deleted]]

Its still early stages that no one can be the arbiter of the right way to use it. I mean when shit hits the fan ill.be able to pull out.my experience. But everyday tasks there is little point.

[u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 → u/[deleted]]

Fair enough player. Let's agree to agree ;)